We are back for round 2 of the Schools Energy Challenge, where we challenge Falkirk Council High Schools to reduce their energy usage!

The competition will run from 01 October 2025 to 31 March 2026 aiming for our schools to reduce electricity use month by month compared to an average calculated from the past 3 years.

Energy use will be measured from electricity use only and will be compared against an average of the previous 3 years.

This will help reduce emissions from schools and make sure we're doing our bit towards climate change. This challenge is also a great leadership opportunity for students and helps reduce running costs of schools!

There will be prizes for 1st and 2nd place totalling £1000, and there will also be additional prizes for the digital engagement aspect of the challenge! Find out more in the Digital Engagement Advice document.

There is still time for schools to sign up for the challenge. If your school would like to join the challenge, please email climatechange@falkirk.gov.uk.

The average school in Falkirk uses 780,671 kWh per year in electricity. That equals 162 tonnes of CO₂.

If we could reduce electricity use in each school by 5%, we'd save 81 tonnes of CO₂ emissions – the equivalent of the annual emissions of 112 cars!

With that figure, we'd also reduce electricity bills by £124,071 per year across all high schools!

In the last round of the challenge, the total emissions reduction from Gas and Electricity use for all high schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 was 186 tonnes of CO₂e – this is the equivalent of driving a petrol car around the earth almost 39 times.

Our Learning for Sustainability in Falkirk has a range of guidance and support available for teachers.