Eco-Schools is a simple, seven-step framework designed to put young people in control of environmental actions and projects in your schools, the local community and beyond.

Progress has been fast this term. We have established an eco-committee (a group of pupils who will be leading the project), the committee then completed the eco-schools environmental review of Summer Fields. This examined how the school is addressing Eco-Schools ten key topic areas: biodiversity, energy, global citizenship, healthy living, litter, marine, school grounds, transport, waste and water. Each area was given a score, which helped the pupils see which areas they could have an immediate impact. 

For 2023-24 the committee is focusing on just three of these areas: energy, global citizenship and waste.

The energy topic has made pupils think about how to reduce their energy use in school and at home.  Global Citizenship has increased their awareness of their active role in the local community and the need to work together to make the planet more sustainable and fair. Waste has encouraged pupils to think about reducing, reusing, recycling and refusing at school and at home.

Action around each of these areas has already begun.

Energy

A team of pupils has been monitoring energy use throughout the school and looking for naughty light switches which have been left on even when there is no-one is in the room. They also requested that all computer screens in school be automatically shut down outside office hours when they are not in use. The Bursar has actioned this saving us money whilst decreasing our carbon footprint.

Waste

The committee continues to collect pens for recycling. An initiative which the pupils set up and started in the summer term and has introduced refillable glue pots.

As part of the audit, the committee also spoke to our Head Chef and Domestic Bursar about food waste and our environmental policies. As a result, there has been a competition between leagues to see which league could create the least amount of food waste over 24 hours. This was used to draw everyone's attention to only placing what you can eat on your plate.

Global citizenship

This theme has introduced a number of new initiatives this term which have supported local causes. This included: a winter clothes collection for the children attending the  John Henry Newman Academy in Littlemore, a pre-Christmas collection of food donations for Cutteslowe Community Larder and a Christmas Jumper Day that raised money for Sobell House. There was also a new section of eco-friendly items added to Buzzer our school shop.

Pupils and staff are eagerly looking forward to next term to plan and action more activities, monitoring and evaluating our progress and getting everyone involved.