Sustainability Week Retrospective

To a backdrop of COP27, which is looking at global action, we have had talks, initiatives, pledges, and made sacrifices to focus the school as a community on positive action for change.

We started the week with a whole school assembly, where we heard from members of the Environment Society and Eco Committee and watched a video outlining the steps we can each take to reduce our individual carbon footprints.

We have teamed up with the other foundation schools so that we can share ideas and some pupils attended a workshop for Eco Ambassadors on Monday at Dulwich College. On Tuesday Imogen, Martina and Ella crossed the road to JAGs school, where they met the eco counterparts, to discuss composters.

On Monday, scores of students from Alleyn’s and other The Southwark Schools’ Learning Partnership (SSLP) schools took part in Finance for Good, and heard live talks to learn about the various ways the finance sector contributes to society and can be used to impact choices about sustainability. Pupils then acted as investment bankers and asset managers in an exciting market simulation.

There was a workshop on sustainable engineering run by William Markiewicz, doctoral researcher in smart and sustainable buildings at UCL and two talks for SSLP schools, including from Mums for Lungs on air pollution as well as a talk on careers in sustainability. In addition, Head of Environment Society, Martina in Year 12 gave two talks during the week, on nuclear fusion and on lab grown meat. Read Martina’s blog here.

With a focus on fashion, student Esther ran a workshop on sewing for sustainability and both students and staff ran clothes swaps to encourage 'slow fashion'.

Three Earthshot assemblies this week introduced pupils to the Alleyn's Learner’s Programme Earthshot Prize, a competition to generate and execute solutions to our climate and nature crises. This year Aleanbh, Amelia, Naomi and Millie, won with their lesson, “Educating for Power”, which focussed on the impact that gender equality and the education of women can have on tackling climate change. Read more about that here.

Chair of the Eco Committee, Maya in Year 12, along with members of the Junior School Eco Council, planted the first tree of the hedge we are laying to make our site even greener. Read more on that here.

On Thursday, pupils shared their thoughts and ideas with representatives from Southwark Council, who are consulting on the Dulwich Village Streets for People plans.

Pupils and staff made pledges, and many of those were not just for Sustainability Week but forever and there were many pledges to turn out lights both at school and at home - good news indeed!

The Eco Committee and the Charity Committee organised ‘The Future in Vintage’, so pupils wearing their own clothes for charity on Friday could do so in ‘slow fashion’ and wear vintage clothes – a fun way to show our support for reducing our carbon footprint by not buying fast fashion.

What a fantastic week!

Find out more about Sustainability at Alleyn's on the sustainability pages of our website.