MANILA — A public high school in Dagupan City was among those that won in the inaugural World's Best School Prize for its efforts to save mangroves in its community.

Bonuan Buquig National High School won the World's Best School Prize for Environmental Action after it restored lost mangroves to reverse the devastation caused by typhoon Pepeng in 2009, according to organizer T4 Education.

T4 Education announced the 5 winning schools in a live-streamed ceremony on Wednesday.

Dunoon Grammar School in Scotland, United Kingdom won in the community collaboration category for its skill-based courses that "turn[ed] around a brain drain in its rural community."

Chile's Escuela Emilia Lascar, which "launched its own TV channel to keep students engaged during COVID," took home the prize for innovation.

Project Shelter Wakadogo in Uganda, which was founded in the wake of a civil war and now educates some 450 children, won the prize for overcoming adversity.

Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago triumphed in the supporting healthy lives category for promoting wellbeing through an arts program.

Each winning school will get $50,000 or around P2.9 million "to keep improving their work and strengthening their school and community," T4 said in its website.

"What these prizes seek to do is to spotlight, highlight and inspire the rest of us with regards to the best practices that they (winners) have developed," T4 Education Founder and CEO Vikas Pota said during the awarding ceremony.

T4 Education is a digital media platform that allows educators to collaborate and share good practices.

Two other Philippine schools were shortlisted for the awards.

• 3 PH public schools included in shortlist for World's Best School Prize categories

These include G.L. David Memorial Integrated School in Bataan, which was picked in the community collaboration category for providing daily free meals to mostly malnourished students.

Iloilo's Malitbog National High School was shortlisted in the supporting healthy lives category for implementing a program that sought "to promote physical, mental, and social health" among students at the height of the pandemic.