Committees and Commitments

Aidan Sproat-Clements, Assistant Head - Director of Studies, introduces the Alleyn's Sustainability Committee and its aims. 

It was my very great joy last week to be part of the inaugural meeting of the Alleyn’s Sustainability Committee. Admittedly, joining another committee might not be something that appeals to everybody – I tried to find an inspirational quote to do with committees, but found only witticisms about their ineffectiveness, such as Milton Berle’s “A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours” – but in the right hands they can be extraordinary forces for good.

So who are the right hands? I was inspired by the people that came to the table – not just because of the skills that they bring collectively, but also because of the comprehensive way in which they represent a cross-section of the Alleyn’s community. Sustainability is such an all-encompassing need that it was important that the group should contain members from across the life of the school. At one end of the scale, therefore, we are delighted that Professor Madeleine Campbell has joined us to represent the governing body. At the other, Ella and Ana, both students in Year 6 of the junior school, came to represent the views of the youngest members of our community. And every party had something to contribute, helping us to refine our purpose and consider best how to communicate our aims.

And what do we hope to achieve? Doesn’t the school already have an Eco committee? An environment society? Aren’t we already making changes and taking steps to improve? We do, and we are. But we are constantly learning and reflecting, and we have already learnt a lot this year. You will no doubt remember how delighted we were that Alleyn’s was represented at COP26 both by Mrs Lunnon and by Year 13 students Suraya and Geneva. You will recall, too, our hugely successful sustainability week in November which saw students commit to making changes in their own lives which would support sustainability and the environment. But from both of these events we took a clear message: that we need both to coordinate the individual steps we are taking and that we need to set real, defined and measurable goals for ourselves. If we are to make Alleyn’s truly sustainable – and are to equip our students with the power to sustain themselves and the world around them – we will only do it by pulling together. This group will ensure that our actions are strategic and consistent with both our values and our goals; in turn, this will make certain that our actions have impact.

Fred Allen – an American comedian – defined a committee as “a group of the unprepared, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary”. I think he was serving on the wrong committees. Ours is a group champing for action, driven by a community-wide desire for change, motivated by an imperative that recognises that inactivity is not an option. We look forward to bringing you on the journey with us.