A VILLAGE school could receive a cash award for recycling its rubbish.

The scheme at West Heslerton school, near Malton, has made it one of only five primary schools in the region to be nominated for the £500 prize by the Guidance Enterprise Group.

Headteacher Rachel Wells said the recycling initiative started because the school was spending £200 a year to have its rubbish taken away.

If the school wins the prize, its democratically elected school council of pupils will decide where it should be spent.

Mrs Wells became involved in recycling when working in the Slovakian city of Bratislava, where she taught for a year.

She said all the schools recycled paper and waste food with only a small amount, such as plastics, having to go to landfill sites.

Now, each classroom in her school has a brightly coloured waste bin and children as young as four are taught to use the system.

"We have done an audit and we now recycle 65 per cent of our waste," said Mrs Wells.

As well as waste paper, the children find a practical use for the peel and core from the apples and oranges they take to school.

It is recycled into compost and put into the school's wildlife area, which aids the growth of wildflowers and wildlife.

The children study the area and its development as a science project.