Holme Grange School has become the very first school to be awarded the eduCCate Global Gold Award for their work on sustainability and climate change issues. The school achieved its Silver award earlier this year and has exceeded all expectations to be awarded the Gold Status.
Awareness around climate change has been embedded into all classrooms and Year 9 students follow a sustainability curriculum. Mrs Claire Robinson, Headteacher, says, “It has been wonderful to see our students growing in confidence when talking about these issues. In our Mock COP earlier this term I was delighted to hear their thoughts – it was clear they had a deeper factual understanding and, in turn, their critical thinking skills have improved. Sustainability is at the heart of our school and our young people motivate me and the staff to keep striving for more progress.”
Holme Grange is also the very first school in the UK to be a fully functional eduCCate Global Hub School. To gain this accolade, the School has demonstrated real action and connection with schools in the area and has worked diligently through the processes of working towards becoming a truly sustainable school.
Leanne Hughes, Holme Grange’s Sustainability Lead Teacher, said “It’s fantastic to see how passionate our students are. Their understanding of these issues is excellent, they want to be activists and aspire to spread awareness to others.”
Parents of students at the school also get the chance to have their say through the Parent Sustainability Strategy Group which meets regularly. In January 2022 the school will host its 3rd Parent Conference which is entitled “Healthy Me, Healthy Planet” focusing on the themes of wellbeing and sustainability which is also open to the public.
The gold status is a real game changer. Holme Grange teachers are the most highly skilled Climate Literacy proficient teachers on the planet who have been instrumental in reframing the narrative around climate change issues so that they are now “outrageous opportunities” for students to grasp. Mrs Robinson says “It’s important that students don’t feel like climate change is their responsibility or a burden. By working with eduCCate Global we have been empowered to write a new scheme of work. Hopefully there will be a Sustainability GCSE on offer for young people in the near future”.
The School is extremely proud of this award – Platinum here we come!
