Environmental awareness

We want to engage the whole community to take action right now on the issues of climate change and sustainability, making us a more environmentally friendly school.

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“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

Clara, LV

“Climate change is no longer some far-off problem. It is happening now.”

Leila, UIV

“The environment takes care of us, so we must take care of it.”

Astrid, LIV

“We only have one earth, and one chance to make it better.”

Maria, UV

An environmentally friendly school

In recognition of our efforts to become a more sustainable and environment-conscious school, we have received the Green Flag Award – the highest Eco-Schools achievement.

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Eco-Schools

Recognising that the time to act is now, we are part of the Eco-Schools programme. It is the largest sustainable schools programme in the world, present in 67 countries and around 52,000 schools. The Eco-Schools Green Flag is an internationally recognised award for excellence in environmental action and learning. They are setting an example of how green schools can lead the way for a more environmentally aware nation.

Our Eco-committee

Each September we hold elections to establish a student-led Eco-committee. The aim of the Eco-committee is to achieve eco credentials by creating meaningful reflection and action on how we can be a more environmentally aware school. Our Eco-committees have helped establish us as one of the best environmentally friendly schools in the UK. We are currently a Green Flag Award Eco-School.

Green Flag Award:

So, how did we achieve the Green Flag Award? Every school taking part in the Eco-Schools programme follows the same Seven Step framework that takes schools between one and two academic years to complete and the process is designed to engage the whole school and its wider community. The process includes:

  • Establishing a student-elected Eco-committee with one representative from each year group
  • The Eco-committee conducts an Environmental Audit of the school in all ten Eco-Schools topics – these include: Biodiversity, Energy, Litter, Water, Healthy Living, Transport and Waste. Read ours here.
  • Using the results from the environmental audit, the Eco-committee decides on an action plan for three chosen topic areas
  • The committee oversees the implementation of the action plan and monitor its success
  • Eco-committee consistently shares their plans and findings with the school through school assemblies, online media and the Eco-committee board

By gathering evidence of these stages outlined, we were able to pass the criteria and become a Green Flag school!

What we have achieved so far

Whilst working towards new eco credentials, we have made some valuable changes around School:

  • We have stopped using plastic bottles for school trips and events
  • We have instigated a crisp packet recycle scheme
  • We have trialled Meat Free Mondays for the whole school
  • We have switched to free range eggs

Find out more about what our DECOs (Downe House Eco-Committee) are up to!

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Tours & Open Mornings

The best way to find out more about Downe House is to experience it for yourself. Book a personal tour or join us at one of our Open Mornings, available throughout the year.

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Maximising Pupil Progress – find out more about our exciting Academic Conference HERE

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