Students leading the green school revolution with Climate Action Plans at XP Gateshead
Children from a Gateshead secondary school are leading efforts to tackle climate change in their school community.
The young people from XP Gateshead school in Felling have been working with leading climate education charity SOS-UK, to create a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to ensure their fellow students - and staff - are all doing their duty to address the climate emergency.
The aim is to empower students, fostering a deeper understanding of climate-related issues and encouraging them to lead on the climate agenda for their school.
XP Gateshead has been hugely supportive of the children leading the way in fostering a truly student-led and impactful CAP.
A CAP is a living document with tangible, real world actions the whole school community can take part in.
The SOS-UK and XP Gateshead partnership launched in November 2023, with support from Gateshead Council, and has seen excellent progress and development so far.
The school CAP is in development, led by 10 passionate students in the Climate Action Group, with representatives from all year groups currently in the school, from age 11 to 14.
This group are closely supported by a designated SOS-UK student staff member and their work is complemented by knowledge building workshops.
One of the students taking part shared why they think it's important to work on the CAP - "because it will affect mine and others' futures. I care a lot about our climate."
Each student in the group contributes their own unique perspective to the CAP and brings knowledge from their workshops, also delivered by SOS-UK.
These workshops provide the backbone to develop a CAP focusing on green careers, climate education, reducing carbon, adaptation and biodiversity.
The students have also been learning from experts across different professions to help support their CAP development.
Last term an energy auditor from Inspired Energy visited the school, giving the students the opportunity to shadow and take part in the audit of their school and use the findings to develop energy saving ideas for their CAP.
One of the students said: 'My favourite part of the energy audit was going around with the thermometric camera [this is a camera that lights up blue and red e.g. close to windows and drafts this would be blue]'
In the coming months the school will also be hosting a climate scientist and a biodiversity expert.
Gemma Sarigu, CAPs Coordinator with SOS-UK, is supporting the student group with this work.
She said: "It's really exciting to be leading a truly student-led Climate Action Plan (CAPs) for this school. We have young people involved in every stage, there's a team of student staff [GK1] working on CAPs at SOS-UK, and we are involved in the planning, creating and delivery of sessions and workshops.
"This means the CAPs project is truly student led and following the idea of 'for young people by young people' which is really incredible to see.
"The Climate Action group at XP Gateshead have been passionate about the environment and tackling the climate crisis right from the very start, but it's been amazing to see the difference in their confidence once they realised that they can make a difference and changes in their school."
Councillor John McElroy, cabinet member for the environment and transport at Gateshead Council, said: "It's fantastic to see these young people really embracing and understanding the climate change agenda.
"As a borough, we are working towards our 2030 target to go carbon neutral , and we need everyone, young and old, to come on this journey with us.
"Well done to the children and staff at XP Gateshead for standing up to do their bit."
Martin Said, a teacher at XP Gateshead, said: "Our students have been working with SOS to develop a climate action plan for our school, this important and authentic work will have a direct impact on the carbon footprint of our school and so will leave a legacy long after our student leaders have left the school.
"Our students are learning that they are important because they do work that matters, and we are grateful for the support of SOS in facilitating the leadership group and wider workshops on decarbonisation, green careers, biodiversity and adapting to the changing climate."
Students are now starting to turn their knowledge and ideas into actions and populating their school CAP.
The next stage for XP will be thinking about how to take these words and start actioning them in-person with the help of the staff and wider school community.
Children from a Gateshead secondary school are leading efforts to tackle climate change in their school community.
The young people from XP Gateshead school in Felling have been working with leading climate education charity SOS-UK, to create a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to ensure their fellow students - and staff - are all doing their duty to address the climate emergency.
The aim is to empower students, fostering a deeper understanding of climate-related issues and encouraging them to lead on the climate agenda for their school.
XP Gateshead has been hugely supportive of the children leading the way in fostering a truly student-led and impactful CAP.
A CAP is a living document with tangible, real world actions the whole school community can take part in.
The SOS-UK and XP Gateshead partnership launched in November 2023, with support from Gateshead Council, and has seen excellent progress and development so far.
The school CAP is in development, led by 10 passionate students in the Climate Action Group, with representatives from all year groups currently in the school, from age 11 to 14.
This group are closely supported by a designated SOS-UK student staff member and their work is complemented by knowledge building workshops.
One of the students taking part shared why they think it's important to work on the CAP - "because it will affect mine and others' futures. I care a lot about our climate."
Each student in the group contributes their own unique perspective to the CAP and brings knowledge from their workshops, also delivered by SOS-UK.
These workshops provide the backbone to develop a CAP focusing on green careers, climate education, reducing carbon, adaptation and biodiversity.
The students have also been learning from experts across different professions to help support their CAP development.
Last term an energy auditor from Inspired Energy visited the school, giving the students the opportunity to shadow and take part in the audit of their school and use the findings to develop energy saving ideas for their CAP.
One of the students said: 'My favourite part of the energy audit was going around with the thermometric camera [this is a camera that lights up blue and red e.g. close to windows and drafts this would be blue]'
In the coming months the school will also be hosting a climate scientist and a biodiversity expert.
Gemma Sarigu, CAPs Coordinator with SOS-UK, is supporting the student group with this work.
She said: "It's really exciting to be leading a truly student-led Climate Action Plan (CAPs) for this school. We have young people involved in every stage, there's a team of student staff [GK1] working on CAPs at SOS-UK, and we are involved in the planning, creating and delivery of sessions and workshops.
"This means the CAPs project is truly student led and following the idea of 'for young people by young people' which is really incredible to see.
"The Climate Action group at XP Gateshead have been passionate about the environment and tackling the climate crisis right from the very start, but it's been amazing to see the difference in their confidence once they realised that they can make a difference and changes in their school."
Councillor John McElroy, cabinet member for the environment and transport at Gateshead Council, said: "It's fantastic to see these young people really embracing and understanding the climate change agenda.
"As a borough, we are working towards our 2030 target to go carbon neutral , and we need everyone, young and old, to come on this journey with us.
"Well done to the children and staff at XP Gateshead for standing up to do their bit."
Martin Said, a teacher at XP Gateshead, said: "Our students have been working with SOS to develop a climate action plan for our school, this important and authentic work will have a direct impact on the carbon footprint of our school and so will leave a legacy long after our student leaders have left the school.
"Our students are learning that they are important because they do work that matters, and we are grateful for the support of SOS in facilitating the leadership group and wider workshops on decarbonisation, green careers, biodiversity and adapting to the changing climate."
Students are now starting to turn their knowledge and ideas into actions and populating their school CAP.
The next stage for XP will be thinking about how to take these words and start actioning them in-person with the help of the staff and wider school community.
