Our Journey to Net Zero

We have the fantastic benefit of our onsite woodlands from which we are able to take advantage of the wood from fallen or cut trees to use in our DT department.

Currently our talented DT technician Mr Ansley, is creating Sixth Form Leavers' pens from various hardwoods across the Estate including Oak and Ash.  

I am always so impressed to see what our creative DT department can make from the initial block of wood and below you can see it in action, following the wood turning through to finishing methods.

Furthermore, these are processes that our pupils are taught and practise, allowing them the opportunity to find ways to make the most of the resources at their fingertips and create innovative and functional products.  

Over the February half term (13th - 19th Feb) we continued our programme of replacing old fluorescent light bulbs with LED's.  Targeting our DT department we have replaced over 50 light fittings which not only improve the working environment but also reduce our electricity usage and help us to continue our bid to achieve Carbon Net Zero. This included 19 in our Wood Workshop, 6 in the Design Suite, 4 in the Sixth Form workshop, 3 in the office and 20 in the Metal Work Shop. 

Part of these works also included upgrading our emergency lighting system in DT.  I must admit to being rather fond of our new 'spaceship' style self testing emergency lights.  These will allow for quick identification of issues and improve the safety for our pupils using these spaces. 

We had a very productive Christmas break, here on the Hill, with our first Electric Vehicle Charging points fitted and metering software added to our main school site electric supply.

The EV Charging points now stand proudly in our Admin car park and are available for staff and parents to use.  This is the first step in our bid to assist staff to move away from their diesel vehicles and will allow school vehicles to be replaced with electric vehicles in the future.

The chargers are Easee (https://easee.com/uk/) and are run using the Fuuse app (https://fuuse.io/fuuse-driver-app) - with staff feedback being very positive. 

The metering will give us access to an online portal that enables us to look closely at our usage, see if there are any patterns and track what should hopefully be a downward trend in use as we continue our programme to become more energy efficient including our lighting programme, whereby we are replacing our old fluorescent fittings with LED's and the addition of solar panels to some of our roofs. 

On Wednesday 9th November, Dean Collins, Head of Feeding Communities at Thomas Franks Ltd, rolled up with a van stuffed full of vegetables and produce that would otherwise have been wasted. Together with our catering team, the van was unloaded, veggies prepped and transformed into 300 portions of a tasty and nutritious vegetable hotpot.

Our pupils then assisted by labelling the lids (with cooking instructions and full allergen information), sealed and packed the hotpot into boxes, ready for freezing and distributing to local and national food banks.

A hugely rewarding day for all involved and a win all round, benefiting those in need and reducing waste. We can’t wait to do this again soon - next time we are aiming for 1000 portions!

This innovation is one of the many reasons we wanted to partner with Thomas Franks. Surplus to Purpose is their initiative to feed the local community by utilising food that would otherwise be heading to landfill and turning it in to nutritious meals for those in need.

Thank you for including us in this wonderful initiative and helping us to help others.

For more information on the wonderful work that the Thomas Franks Foundation does please visit www.thomasfranks.com/charity/

Sometimes it’s the little things….

When our Eco Committee (made up of pupils from across the school) sat down for the first meeting of the year on 26th September, they discussed what they felt passionate about and decided on the topics they wanted to work on.

They decided that they would focus on:
Litter
Biodiversity
Healthy Living
Energy

Asked for any quick wins, there was a very clear answer that pupils did not use the bins in the dining room because the flip top bins were “nasty” and you had to touch them to put anything in.

So here they are, new bins for the dining room. We’ve also added more recycling bins around site as it was suggested that pupils don’t recycle because it’s easier not to.

It’s small, but it’s a start and those pupils now know they can make a difference.

Meet our Committee:

Name - House/ Title       

Ellie - Greenwich         

Micah - Clyde    

Madison - Durham               

Ollie - Bradford             

Keira - Severn 

Lilly - Lodge   

Sam - Sheffield             

Arthur - Woodstock        

Elliot - Plymouth           

Archie - Havelock             

Lidia Pocock - Head of Estate Management     

Anna Thatcher - Catering Manager           

Jane McFarlane - Head of Animal Management