A BRADFORD school has been nominated for a national award for its work on a number of green schemes.

St Stephen's C of E Primary School has been shortlisted for the community award at this year’s Education Business Awards for its work on environmental issues around the site. The awards ceremony will be held online on Thursday, July 8.

Over the last three years the school has worked alongside groups including Born in Bradford (BIB) to help improve its environmental understanding and find ways to protect its pupils from air pollution and contracting conditions such as asthma.

BIB visited the Gaythorne Road school last month to discuss the impact poor air can have on everybody's health.

St Stephen's pupils have been using equipment like sensors to monitor the local air quality.

It is the lead school in the BIB Breathes – Born In Bradford project. It is a study where primary school children in Bradford have the chance to become citizen scientists and measure air pollution as they walk to and from school.

More than 200 children from 12 schools in Bradford have been provided with portable monitoring packs that they can wear as they walk around. This tells the BIB team how much pollution children are exposed to but also when and where the highest exposures happen.

St Stephen's will also be involved in the Living Streets project from this September. It is a charity which looks to encourage people to walk more and not rely as much on transport including cars.

It has also taken part in the School Streets pilot project which has led to Bowling Old Lane, a road near the school, to be shut to traffic for up to 30 minutes before and after regular school hours.

This year the school has also planed a 'green wall' of conifers around the site to further its environmental benefits.

The school also keeps its playground open after hours for its children to use as a space for exercise and for them to play sports.

Jamie Thorpe, assistant headteacher and science leader at St Stephen's, said: "It feels amazing to be nominated for the award. It was a huge surprise for us to be nominated.

"It feels amazing that we have had this recognition for all of the hard work we have been doing as a school to work with the community.

"I also want to get us to be a no-plastic school in the future. We're going in the right direction with these things.

"We want to see what can be done as citizen scientists to make this planet a better place.

"Our school is encircled by main roads. We want to make the space nicer and make sure the children aren't breathing in polluted air all day.

"It started off with our work with BIB and has snowballed. We are definitely getting there with being a green school, but there is still more to be done."

This award recognises schools working in partnership with other public sector bodies, including council, police, NHS or Fire Service, on projects that bring specific benefits to the local community.

St Stephen's will be battling for the community award alongside Castledon School, Essex; Heene Primary, Worthing; Bournehall Primary School; Hertfordshire and St Mary's CEVC Primary School, Somerset.