Mt Tarcoola Primary School is set to benefit from $10,000 worth of free shade thanks to Cancer Council WA after winning a statewide SunSmart competition.

The announcement of the competition winner has been made during National Skin Cancer Action Week.

This is the fourth year Cancer Council has run the competition to raise awareness about the importance of shade in schools and to promote the SunSmart schools program.

Principal at Mt Tarcoola Primary Mark Whisson said the win meant a lot to the school.

“We’ve been a SunSmart school since 2008 so our students are very aware of the need to protect themselves appropriately,” he said.

“Winning the school shade competition means we will be able to significantly increase the shade area for our students, the cost of which would have put this project out of reach without the support of the Cancer Council,” said Mr Whisson.

Mark Strickland, SunSmart Manager said the competition was an excellent way of reminding schools about the importance of shaded play areas.

“Skin damage during childhood and adolescence greatly increases your risk of developing skin cancer later in life, so it’s really vital we educate young people about the risks of skin cancer and to make shade available to them at school.

“The more we promote SunSmart message through measures such as this competition, the more successful we will be in reducing their risk of developing skin cancer in the future,” he said.

The free SunSmart Schools Program aims to minimise student and staff exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun at school and during school-associated activities.

For more information about the competition and SunSmart Schools program visit www.GenerationSunSmart.com or phone (08) 9388 4351.