The environmental agenda is gaining momentum as an (international) policy issue. This is reflected in an increase in research on environmental education aiming to explain and even change (youngsters’) attitudes, beliefs and behaviour towards the environment. In this study we focus on this issue from a school effectiveness research perspective. More specifically we evaluate (1) which student characteristics predict environmental awareness and attitudes, (2) whether schools make a difference in their students’ environmental attitudes and awareness and (3) if schools have a differential effect for students with varying levels of science abilities. To this end, the cross-sectional survey data of OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 are re-analysed using a multivariate multilevel model. Results show that sex, immigrant status and socio-economic status are important in explaining students’ environmental attitudes and awareness. Furthermore schools are shown to matter. Schools in which science is taught in a more hands-on manner stimulate higher environmental awareness while environmental learning activities are associated with more pro-environmental attitudes. After controlling for student characteristics, these school effects do not differ between more science able children and their less or average science literate peers.