ECO-FRIENDLY pupils at a Darlington school have helped their environment by planting 30 trees during a national awareness event.

Polam Hall School's junior school council applied for the trees from the Woodland Trust to celebrate National Tree Week.

Each newly-planted tree will be dedicated to a different class in the junior school.

Tree week is a festival designed to mark the start of the tree planting season, and a nationwide celebration of trees and woods.

Pupils are also supporting not-for-profit company Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) in its efforts to grow trees in Burkino Faso, West Africa, by organising a collection of aluminium cans.

Headteacher Marie Green said: "Our students are all aware of the need to care for the environment. The recycling schemes have been successful throughout the school and it is a natural progression now to enhance our school environment with the new trees.

"The pupils are aware that we need to preserve our natural resources for future generations, and junior school girls have been writing poems about the environment to encourage more recycling."

For the past 12 months, pupils have been taking part in waste recycling projects. Recycling bins can be found in many areas of the school, including classrooms.