An independent girls’ school in Greenwich has been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag for its commitment to environmental action in education.
Blackheath High School chose to focus on the environmental topics of energy, waste and biodiversity, leading initiatives and providing hands-on learning activities for its pupils aged 3-18.
Some of the initiatives Blackheath High School introduced included running energy-saving switch-off campaigns to reduce the school’s CO2 emissions; carrying out environment and energy audits; clearing litter and plastic from the streets to prevent it reaching rivers and oceans; building a minibeast hotel and stag beetle nursery; and introducing wildlife-friendly planting.
Blackheath High School was one of the first schools to join Eco-Schools’ Ocean Plastics Academy, making it one of a handful of schools to introduce the study of ocean plastics to the curriculum. The school partnered with Common Seas, an anti-pollution not-for-profit, to deliver this.
We have many more exciting environmental initiatives in the pipeline which will see us make even more of a difference – Carol Chandler-Thompson, Blackheath High School
This was one of the school’s environmentally-focused pledges to that it set out last year in celebration of its 140th anniversary.
Head Carol Chandler-Thompson said: “At Blackheath High we are all hyper-aware of the environmental crisis, and I am so proud of how committed our girls and staff have been in playing their part to combat it.
“This award is a real testament to their hard work. But it doesn’t stop here. We have many more exciting environmental initiatives in the pipeline which will see us make even more of a difference.”
Eco-Schools is a global programme, which has been running for over 25 years, that has reached 19.5m children across 67 countries.
