We are extremely proud to announce that All Saints’ Academy has just been awarded the prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag Award in recognition of the environmental work that has taken place over the course of the past academic year. Climate Change and sustainability is without a doubt the most important issue that our students’ generation will have to face, and we strongly believe that it is our duty to raise awareness of the impact of the climate crisis through our curriculum as well as extra-curricular activities.
We have a passionate group of students who act as our Eco Spirituality leaders, meeting regularly to discuss ways to make the school a more sustainable environment. Thanks to their hard work we have made improvements to the waste and recycling facilities around the building and worked to make the school catering facilities more sustainable. This group of students recently represented All Saints’ Academy at the Cheltenham Education Partnership Changemakers event at the University of Gloucestershire, presenting a display of all of the work that has taken place over the course of the year and learning about Transforming Systems, Money and Greenwash, Biodiversity, Re-designing the future, Smart Carbon, and Communications and Influencing.
The Academy has also engaged with external organisations in recognition of the fact that we must take coordinated action if we are to truly make a difference. We are proud to be part of a pilot study by the Climate Change Education Research Network (CCERN) arranged through the University of Bristol, and have joined the Cheltenham Zero partnership, pledging to become Carbon Neutral by the year 2030 and commissioning a report by Inspired Efficiency to help us identify the steps that need to be taken. We have welcomed visitors such as Alex Chalk MP, Councillor Max Wilkinson and Raechel Kelly from Planet Cheltenham youth group to deliver assemblies on Climate Change, and a team from the Golden Valley Development has been in to discuss the sustainable aspects of the scheme, establishing a partnership which we hope will continue to grow and develop.
A special mention must also go to students Fatma, Wiktoria, Andreea and Kaci who were the winners of the Cheltenham Education Partnership ‘Make Plastic Fantastic’ art competition.