A SHINFIELD school has been commended for its sustainability efforts in a recent awards by Citykids magazine.
Leighton Park School was named joint winners of the Green Senior School Award 2023, with
Competition judge Melaine Sanderson, The Good Schools Guide Managing Editor, celebrated the school’s “impressive firm commitment to change-making at a high level”.
Sustainability coordinator and head of geography, Oliver Staines, said: “Working in this school and environment, it is such a special privilege to witness and be involved in helping to facilitate the passionate work of so many students and members of staff committed to leaving the community in a more sustainable place than they found it.
“I am thrilled that the hard work of so many individuals and groups in our community can be rightly celebrated through this award.”
This year, students from Year 8 to Sixth Form have joined the University of Reading for a Climate Change Action Planning Workshop, with many involved in creating a sustainability game called ‘How Bad are Bananas’ to keep the primary school students in attendance engaged with the issues being addressed.
Some pupils recorded their experiences from the day in a follow-up documentary.
Victoria Evans, editor of Citykids magazine, said: “I love the idea of creating documentaries which enable students to share their experiences and learnings from quite remarkable access to key climate summits.
In March, two Year 7 teams from the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Team (NEWTs) club, joined Sir Alok Sharma, President of COP26, for a youth Climate Summit entitled ‘There is Only One Earth’ at Green Park Business Park.
The event saw schools in the area come together with climate experts from the University of Reading and consultants from Reduce Energy Ltd.
The aim was to come up with pupil-led pledges for delegates to choose from, with a plan to organise annual meetings.
The Eco Schools student-led groups have achieved the coveted Green Flag Award, and the school has planted more than 1,200 trees on Leighton Park’s grounds this year, with the community also sponsoring a project to re-wild an area of the ancient Caledonian Forest in Scotland.
Some of the events run by the school in recognition of COP26 in November 2021 included: an entire school debate on the pros and cons of degrowth vs. innovation across different economies, Year 9 and 10 drama students visiting three KS2 schools to deliver a climate change play, and a giant jigsaw entitled ‘Together for our Planet’ curated by a dozen primary schools.
