A NEW purpose-built school that boasts its own wind turbine generator and rainwater harvesting system was officially opened on Tuesday.

Energy secretary Brian Wilson presided over the ceremony at Catchgate Primary School, near Stanley, at 3pm.

The £2.1m eco-friendly building has already been highly commended in the Business Commitment to the Environment and County Durham 2001 Environment Awards.

Head teacher Ken Joel said: "The old school provided nearly a century of excellent education to generations of Catchgate children. We have the facilities in our new school to continue this tradition into the 21st Century."

Many of the original materials have been retained - including the mahogany floors, cast iron pipes, radiators and roof slates.

As well as being a model of green-ness, the building's eco-friendly features are a valuable educational resource.

The green theme continues right through the building. Natural daylight is used to maximum advantage, so reducing artificial lighting running costs.

Automatic lighting controls, using detectors, are installed in all classrooms and switch off when rooms are unoccupied or sufficient natural lighting is available.

NPower installed the 20kw turbine which provides virtually all of the school's power. Surplus energy is sold to the national grid.

Durham County Council worked closely with Northumbrian Water in the design and installation of the rainwater harvesting system.

To further sustainable development, AEI Cables of Birtley agreed to supply PVC-free wiring for the school.

County council environment and technical services director Chris Tunstall said: "We wanted to create a stimulating school to provide the best facilities for learning.

"We adopted a partnership approach from the very start of the project and it has been very successful. Everyone involved has played a major part and the end result is this fantastic new facility."

Partners in the design and construction of the school were Northumbrian Water, NPower, Thorn Lighting, Durham Constabulary, DTA Structural Consultants and AEI Cables.