St JOSEPH'S PUPILS CELEBRATE PLATINUM STATUS: From Green to Platinum

St Jospeh's has proven their green credentials after being awarded a top eco accolade.

On June 28^th we were awarded the prestigious Platinum Flag Award after previously gaining three Green Flag Awards thanks to the environmental education programme, Eco-Schools.

Eco-Schools is an international programme run in Wales by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy and funded by the Welsh Government. Over 90% of schools in Wales are registered on the programme.

The Eco-Schools programme inspires and empowers pupils to be leaders of change in their community, helping them learn about sustainable living and global citizenship while giving them the information and support they need to make changes that will benefit their school, local environment and wider community, such as reducing waste, energy consumption, transport, biodiversity, healthy living and litter issues.

As part of their Eco-Schools Platinum assessment we have set up a litter challenge programme to tackle litter, introduced plastic recycling containers in each class room, introduced PaperCut to reduce paper waste via printing, undertaken a water audit and improved facilities with the help of Welsh Water, encouraged healthy lifestyles through offering a range of 5X 60 activities and healthy food choices in the canteen and improved school grounds with the addition of our eco garden. We were congratulated on our cross-curricular ESDGC efforts, especially in regard to the huge amount of charity work undertaken each year.

Mr T Brown, the school Headteacher said:

"'The Platinum Flag is a hugely impressive achievement and highlights the enthusiasm,  commitment and drive that St Joseph's has towards sustainable development and global  issues. The dedication of the Eco-Committee over many years has been inspirational. I’d like to congratulate and thank all of the pupils and staff involved for their hard work."

Ms N. Walsh, the school Eco-Co-ordinator said:

“We are really proud to have obtained the Platinum Award. Pupils have worked successfully as a team to develop an environmental ethos which is an integral part of our school’s life.”

Bryony Bromley, Education Officer for Keep Wales Tidy said:

 “There are some fantastic projects taking place in St Joseph's High and the school has improved a lot since starting the programme in 2006. Waste minimisation was an obvious strong point in the school with a lot of positive projects taking place both within the curriculum and outside the curriculum by the Eco-Committee. Global Citizenship was also incredibly well embedded into the ethos of the school with some amazing projects and campaigns being run by the pupils to raise both money and awareness about issues locally and globally. ESDGC as a whole has been well developed within the school and there are abundant opportunities for pupils to learn about their global impact within the curriculum.”

She further added:

“The Platinum Flag is a very impressive achievement and highlights the enthusiasm and commitment that St. Joseph’s R.C High has towards sustainable development. The dedication of the Eco-Committee over many years has been inspirational. I’d like to congratulate and thank all of the pupils and staff involved for their hard work!”

Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Natural Resources said:

“Many congratulations to the pupils and teachers in all the schools for achieving this prestigious award.  I’m delighted that the Welsh Government has been able to fund Keep Wales Tidy to operate the Eco-Schools programme in Wales.  By doing so, many thousands of children and young people across Wales are learning about their environment and the many benefits it brings us in terms of clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and healthy soils in which to grow flowers, trees and crops. Pupils taking part in the programme have gained skills and are better equipped to deal with the future challenges we face through climate change and make better decisions to ensure our natural resources continue to provide benefits for future generations.”

For more information on the Eco-Schools programme, visit www.keepwalestidy.org/eco-schools