Mayor of Newry and Mourne District Council, Councillor John Feehan, hosted a ceremony at the Sean Hollywood Arts Centre to present five local schools with their prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag awards. This was a particularly special event as these were the first five schools ever to receive Green Flag status in the district.

St Clare’s Convent, Newry; Killean Primary School; St Joseph’s Primary, Meigh; St Joseph’s Primary, Bessbrook and St Mary’s Primary Glasdrumman, Annalong all achieved the accolade after being assessed during May by representatives of Tidy NI who run the Eco-Schools programme in Northern Ireland.

Mayor Feehan speaking to the teachers and pupils attending the presentation ceremony said “This is a tremendous achievement. The Green Flag award is internationally recognised and only obtained by those schools who have reached the highest of environmental standards”.

“Well done to all the staff and pupils whose dedication has resulted in these awards. A special word of congratulations to the members of the Eco Committees present here today. You have taken the lead by making sure that your school cares about the environment and puts in place sound environmental practices.” he added.

Colin Latham, the Northern Ireland Eco-Schools Manager, was also fulsome in his praise of the winning schools. He stated “This is a wonderful achievement for all of the schools in Newry and Mourne. I was lucky enough to be at three of the assessments and, while every school is unique, the one constant in all of them is the enthusiasm of the pupils and their teachers throughout the process. All of these schools are an excellent example of what Eco-Schools is all about”.

The winning schools have now earned the right to display their Green Flag in their school.