HOW many children does it take to power a Christmas tree? The answer is about 230, if you take the green efforts of children at Archbishop of York’s CE Junior School in Bishopthorpe into account.

By pedalling away on a bike hooked up to a generator and rechargeable battery, pupils have been taking it in turns to help power their Christmas tree lights.

Head teacher Jonathan Green, said: “The children have had great fun. It’s been a really engaging way to think about how we use energy both at school but also in the home – and we’ve all been keeping fit as well. The pedal-powered Christmas tree demonstrates just how much can be achieved by individuals working together to make a difference in the world – children, teachers, parents, carers and visitors to the school have all been helping us with our pledge by cycling for at least a minute on our “PedGen” to keep the lights twinkling this year.”

The school’s Eco Committee – ten children from each of the four school years – have been raising awareness about where energy is from and what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint.

The children’s Keep The Christmas Tree Lights Lit challenge is a pledge by the whole school to reduce its carbon footprint this Christmas.

The school received support for the project from the City of York’s St Nicholas Fields Environment Centre and from the environmental consultancy Firefly Solar, which supports events nationwide and lent the school one of their pedal power generators and other equipment for the project.

The school’s Eco Committee has also been working on other sustainability projects with the council and the school will be having cavity wall insulation upgrade work completed during the Christmas holidays.