King's pupils to tell teachers how to go green

12 Nov 2021 10:32
Published by: Scott Callan

The King's School's young eco campaigners have teamed up with two British multi-nationals to start planning for a more sustainable future.

The research gathered during their Year 9 Careers and Enterprise Event with Balfour Beatty and Arup is to be fed into King's senior management planning to go even greener.

Organised by King's Head of PSHE, Isobel Lally, the day saw representatives from Balfour Beatty and Arup both set a series of tasks to test the youngsters' ingenuity and challenge traditional thinking. A key element of the day was set by the Arup team to devise a greener transport policy and it really got the children thinking.

James Reay, 13, voiced the youngsters' concerns: "Our generation is becoming more aware of climate change and how the earth is being destroyed but I am not sure the problem will be solved because we are still far too reliant on a carbon powered economy."

Emma Foster, 13, said: "The school already has some electric car charging points, but as more people make the switch to electric vehicles, we will need to install more, as well as continue to encourage car sharing, facilitate walking and cycling to and from school and choose eco-friendly transport companies."

Miss Isobel Lally said: "The Enterprise Day centred on showing our pupils just how many different roles and skill sets there are in today's world of work. Construction giant Balfour Beatty and engineering expert Arup manage high profile projects worldwide and are at the forefront of creating an eco-friendly future. It became apparent that what the pupils were learning could be adopted by King's as we look to minimise our own carbon footprint, so it makes sense for pupils to pass on their learning from the event to our own decision makers."

The Enterprise Day is the first in a series of PSHE events for pupils, with future days looking at how to improve diversity and how to make more healthy choices for a better lifestyle.

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