KEIGHLEY College has earned national recognition for the 'green' creativity of its students.

It has been named 'best in Britain' by Planet Earth Games after the charity challenged colleges to come up with innovative environmental activities.

Creations produced by Keighley College students included an indoor greenhouse made from recycled bottles and timber offcuts, and a suit of armour welded together from pieces of waste metal.

Student engagement officer Cristopher Nichols, who co-ordinated the activities, said: "I’m so proud of our students, who did a simply brilliant job of fulfilling the competition’s brief.

"They produced some great pieces of work that really highlighted a range of environmental issues and in some cases will be put to practical use, such as the indoor greenhouse which will help us grow our own fruit and vegetables.

"The students also got involved in very worthwhile activities like running our sustainable ‘pay-what-you-can’ shop, which is stocked with donated, good-quality clothes to help students during the cost-of-living crisis.

"Their fantastic efforts made them worthy overall winners of this important national award."

As part of the challenge, colleges were invited to organise events based around seven sustainable themes – carbon reduction, connecting to nature, food, waste reduction, conservation, energy and travel.

The colleges then had to submit entries describing each of their activities.

Student Dylan Worsnop, helped by tutor Simon Davison, used bits of leftover metal from his fabrication and welding course to produce his Spartan-style body armour and shield.

The project started with the headpiece and then grew until Dylan had created the whole outfit.

Keighley College principal Kevin O’Hare said he was delighted with the competition success.

"It is testament to both the passion that our students have for protecting the environment and to their creativity," he added.

"The sheer variety of the projects they were involved in was so impressive, as was the fact that they were focused on being accessible to all and really involving the whole college community.

"Their efforts have shone a light on our college and our commitment to sustainable action, which includes becoming net zero by 2035. We’re looking forward to being presented with the so-called Bamboo Trophy for this victory, and will be displaying it proudly on campus."

Planet Earth Games said that nationally nearly 18,000 different sustainable activities had been posted on social media, and that the judging panel was "blown away" by the quality of the submissions.