Eco-Schools Green Flag Award
RGS Pupils have earned international accreditation, recognising their excellent work in making the School more environmentally friendly and raising eco-awareness amongst fellow pupils. Eco-Schools is an international education programme that prompts young people to explore sustainability and climate change to take action.
Pupils worked with Miss Briggs, one of our Environment Officers, to conduct an environmental review, assessing how eco-friendly the School is. They reviewed everything from recycling practices, to energy usage, to how environmental themes are covered in classrooms. Building on their findings, the pupils, with support from Miss Briggs, planned a year of activities that would up their green-credentials.
The group connected their work to three Eco-Schools topics: Marine conservation, Transport and Water pollution. Activities included a range of awareness raising, from delivering an assembly about the importance of sharks, finalising the ban on single-use cups for hot drinks, to carrying out a bicycle survey to see whether more students and staff could cycle to work.
Environmental Officer and Teacher of Biology, Ms Becky Briggs, said: “I have been really impressed with my small but mighty Eco-Council and the commitment they have shown to improving their approaches and that of their peers towards environmental matters here at RGS and beyond. Now we have our first Eco-Schools Green Flag Award under our belts, we are looking forward to improving even further. Everybody can make small changes to improve the impact of living on the planet and I hope that we will inspire the RGS community to live in a more sustainable manner.”
Eco-Schools England Manager, Adam Flint, said: “Earning an Eco-Schools Green Flag Award takes passion, commitment and a desire to make a difference. Pupils should be proud of their great work. They’re an inspiration and it makes us feel heartened and positive about the future of our planet.”
We would love to welcome students from all year groups to join the Eco-Council who meet half termly and also to any students wishing to join the Environment Club which runs on Friday lunchtimes. To learn more about Eco-Schools head to www.eco-schools.org.uk