Surrey Resilient Schools Grants

Surrey County Council has launched a grant scheme to make schools more resilient to extreme weather impacts.

Many schools across Surrey rely on old or outdated infrastructure. Teachers, students and their families need reassurance that the county is prepared to minimise interruptions in learning from impacts like flooding and overheating. These disruptions impact students’ learning and can have wider detrimental effects on the local economy when parents need to stay at home for childcare if schools are closed. 

Eligible schools (Surrey Maintained Schools and Academies) can apply for grants of up to £7,000. A range of measures that counter these impacts can be funded, including:  

Surrey’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Marisa Heath, said of the project: 

“This project is a powerful example of how we can support our schools to become more resilient to climate change while inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders. By investing in practical solutions like SuDS, tree planting, and green roofs, we’re helping schools reduce flooding, overheating, and biodiversity loss while embedding sustainability into everyday learning. Schools are at the heart of our communities, and this initiative will help them lead the way.” 

Participating schools will be encouraged to use these interventions to work towards their Eco-Schools Green Flag awards – for which Surrey has just topped the national Eco-Schools league table for the third consecutive year. 

Reduction in wildlife, disruption to infrastructure, and flooding are the 3 most commonly observed impacts of climate change already being seen in Surrey* by local residents. These are predicted to become more frequent and severe in the coming years, making it essential that we collectively plan adaptation and resilience strategies to cope with disruption.  

As such, training and support for mapping and responding to threats will also be a major part of the Surrey Resilient Schools project. Participating schools will be able to showcase their efforts and celebrate their achievements at the 2026 Schools EcoSummit which will be focused on local resilience.  

Additionally, two schools will be selected for ‘deep dive’ interventions which will pilot more comprehensive approaches to climate resilience, the learnings from which will be shared county-wide.  

The deadline for grant applications is November 17th 2025. 

You can download the Application form (including eligibility criteria) and Guidance Pack below, or contact greenerfutures@surreycc.gov.uk for further information.

DOWNLOAD – RESILIENT SCHOOLS GRANT APPLICATION

DOWNLOAD – RESILIENT SCHOOLS GRANT GUIDANCE PACK

*Data taken from SCC’s Resident Insight Unit Customer Panel survey, May 2022