SMS sponsors “Sustainable Primary School of the Year Award” at the Oxford Climate Awards
Summary
SMS proudly sponsored the Sustainable Primary School of the Year Award for the second year running at this year’s Oxford Climate Awards. The event celebrated schools and pupils across Oxfordshire who are taking practical steps toward a greener future, underlining the vital role of education, innovation, and collaboration in achieving the UK’s net zero goals.
Championing education for a Net Zero future
SMS’s continued sponsorship of the Sustainable Primary School of the Year Award reflects a core belief: that building a sustainable energy future starts with inspiring the next generation.
Achieving net zero is not only about deploying technology and infrastructure – it’s also about sparking curiosity, awareness, and ambition among young people who will become tomorrow’s innovators and climate leaders.
Celebrating Middle Barton Primary School
This year’s winner, Middle Barton Primary School, impressed judges with its whole-school commitment to sustainability. From reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency to embedding environmental responsibility into everyday learning, the school’s approach demonstrates how sustainability can become a shared culture.
By engaging pupils directly in projects and encouraging creative thinking around climate issues, Middle Barton has shown how education can move beyond theory to deliver real, community-wide impact.
Driving change with local partnerships
The awards also shone a light on SMS’s partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, a collaboration that is helping communities across the region accelerate the transition to low-carbon living. Through Metis by SMS, the partnership is delivering fully funded solar and battery solutions to homes and public buildings – including schools – enabling them to generate their own clean energy while engaging pupils through hands-on learning opportunities in sustainability and renewable technology.
This summer, Metis by SMS reached a major milestone: completing 200 solar PV and battery installations across Oxfordshire. Since launching nine months ago, the programme has generated 120 MWh of renewable energy, saved participating households an average of £375 a year, and achieved a 65% conversion rate from offer to installation – supported by over 9,100 Energy Saver App downloads.
With over 8,000 additional users already engaged, the next phase will expand the model to thousands more homes – cutting carbon, lowering costs, and proving the power of local collaboration to deliver a smarter, fairer energy system.
Together with its partners, SMS continues to demonstrate how progress toward net zero can begin at every level – from the classroom to the community – by combining education, innovation, and practical action.
