The examinations boards have even started to include conservation topics as part of the biology curriculum and green energy examples as part of the maths and physics papers. Green initiatives aren’t just dominating exam papers with schools now encouraging green after school clubs, conservation expeditions, as well as guest speakers to come into schools and address pupils on sustainability and environmental issues.

King’s College, Taunton, is one such school at the forefront of this green revolution with students, teachers and non-teaching staff all coming together as part of a wider initiative to educate each other on sustainability. The scheme has proved so popular that it has become an integral part of the schools ethos prompting waste and recycling initiatives including an ‘anti-food waste program’ encouraging the school community to ‘’Take what you Eat and Eat What You Take’.

The school’s chaplains, along with students, have begun to grow organic vegetables in raised flower beds in the school grounds and they have even taken in some ex-battery chickens!

King’s College, like many independent schools in the UK, has luscious grounds with the space needed to house various biodiversity projects. In conjunction with the Biology department and the importance placed on biodiversity in the curriculum the school has allocated an area of GRANIK – an area where the grass is allowed to grow longer to encourage a wider variety of animals and plants.

Schools all over the UK have begun to invest time and money into green projects and it’s only a matter of time before we all reap the rewards of the hard work of students and teachers alike.

So why not come and see for yourself, school Open Days are a great opportunity to sample an independent education. View more information on School Open Days and independent schools in Cambridgeshire.

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So what are independent schools doing? At the end of January, the Girls Schools Association (GSA), in association with The Cheltenham Ladies’ College, proved that the independent sector is ready to tackle the issues of the environment with the first ever ‘Global Caring Conference’. The conference focused on the environmental challenges the world faces today and called for the girls to use their leadership skills to become involved.

Get angry about climate change. That was the gist of Jonathon Porritt’s keynote address. Porritt is co-founder of Forum for the Future, and an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. Indeed, the level of UK public awareness of environmental issues and the government’s engagement in environmental issues today is in large part down to Jonathon’s uncompromising stance over the last decade.

Professor K Vala Ragnarsdottir, Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Bristol University explained how she had come to work on issues affecting climate change. She urged girls to take action fast, as soon it will be too late.

Former international swimmer Simone Mann and co-founding director of Cheltenham-based Commercial Group – one of the first companies of its kind to become carbon neutral – was the final speaker of the day. Simone spoke inspiringly of the practical steps she took to make her company carbon neutral and the ways the business has benefited as a result – no doubt inspiring schools to follow suit. Lunch continued the sustainability theme, with all ingredients sourced from within a 25-mile radius of Cheltenham.Over 200 pupils and staff from 52 GSA schools attended the conference, with everyone taking part in a dynamic post-lunch workshop to share ideas and create action plans on how they could make a positive impact on the environment within their own schools. Ideas included conducting a carbon dioxide audit, introducing ‘Fairtrade’ status for schools and using the search engine Blackle.com. The girls left the conference highly motivated, determined to make a difference and focused on one of the key messages from Jonathon Porritt – there is very little time and it is their generation that needs to take action.Schools can learn more about becoming sustainable and more environmentally aware at http://www.eco-schools.org.uk.

What is your school doing to be more environmentally friendly? Leave us a comment to let us know…

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