We are glad to announce that St Peter's School has received its Eco-Schools Silver Award in recognition of the the steps we have taken towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
Our thanks go to the Eco Council and Eco Clubs for their work in achieving this award. It has been a challenging year for the teams working together but one which has reminded our pupils of the value of our world. Inspired to act despite lockdown, the pupils' eco-council and eco-club teams at St Peter's 13-18 have continued to meet virtually and have enjoyed sharing ideas of ways to enjoy and protect the natural world around us.
In the Christmas term, pupils made bird boxes that now hang around the site. During lockdown, the teams shared recipes for seasonal, vegetarian meals, learned to recognise bird songs and, once restrictions lifted, suggested beautiful places in our locality to experience nature.
Back at school, pupils have enjoyed writing a quiz for Earth Day and are continuing to collect hard to recycle items through the Terracycle scheme. Plans are also being made to develop parts of the school's gardens as a haven for wildlife with bird feeders and houses - a place for wildlife and quiet time out. The teams are also targeting reducing the use of single use plastics, encouraging everyone to bring their own water bottle to school, and are hoping to take part in a beach clean in June.
We have now completed 80% of the work needed for our first Eco-Schools Green Flag! The Eco Council will meet next week to begin to work on achieving this next status.
Charley (Lower Sixth):
I am delighted that the school has achieved its silver eco award, and I am confident that this will provide inspiration and motivation for us all to reach further sustainable and eco achievements.
Lucy (Lower Sixth):
It’s so encouraging to see St Peter’s receiving this Silver Award; acknowledging everybody’s active efforts towards creating a more sustainable school for us all.
Mel (Lower Sixth):
I am incredibly pleased to see St Peters becoming more sustainable and achieving the Silver Award. It's so very important for our future and it has been really enjoyable to get involved with, I look forward to what we do next.
Mrs Samantha Hall, who co-ordinates the Eco-Club at St Peter’s, said:
The progress we have made do far has been thanks to the work of so many people, from all year groups in the student body, plus catering, grounds, support and teaching staff. We all have an important part to play in making the school a more sustainable place and I encourage everyone to take part in any way they can.
When we achieved the Bronze Award, Mr Jeremy Walker, Head Master at St Peter’s, said:
I have been delighted to see the rapid growth of our pupil-led Eco-Club which came from the School Council last year and gained my immediate support. A great deal of hard work has already been done and we are seeing a significant reduction in single-use plastic as well as the introduction of our Park and Ride scheme.
I am very proud of the pupils and grateful for the support of colleagues across the school. This is a shining example of young people taking responsibility and making a positive impact and I look forward to further developments.
The whole school community has a role to play in creating a more sustainable future. Recently, the Eco Club received a £500 donation from the Friends of St Peter's to purchase bird feeders and wildlife refuges to install around the campus, more robust bins for collecting Terracycle products, and six litter pickers for use on community projects.
