NURSERY pupils from Chandlings' Prep School made their own apple juice yesterday.

Every year students and staff bring in hundreds of apples and pears from home and with fruit falling earlier than usual due to the warm weather this summer the annual apple pressing week was brought forward.

The initiative is organised by the school’s eco-council which consists of 19 children, one child from each class, and the Parents and Teachers Association of Chandlings also helped run the apple pressing during the week.

The school hires the apple crusher, apple presser and pasteuriser from local company, Abingdon Carbon Cutters, which looks at different ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

The pressed apples fill hundreds of bottles brought in by the children and are subsequently sold at the end of each day. Each year group from nursery right through to Year 6 have the opportunity to press the apples.

The proceeds go towards other eco-friendly initiatives that the eco-council have voted for, such as building the school’s poly-tunnel for the gardening club that enables the children to grow unusual flowers, fruits and vegetables which need warmer climates.

Tim Saunders, head of the eco-council, said: “The environment and climate change are hugely important aspects in our daily school lives.

"Chandlings’ eco-council is at the heart of deciding what areas we need to focus on and how we can reduce, re-use, recycle and ensure that the school is as eco-friendly as possible."