Sustainability
Sustainability Committee
In 2006, a staff-led body was created to look at what the School should do to reduce waste, cut our carbon footprint and move the School on a more sustainable course. The work being done overlaps with the World AIMS Project.
The committee includes students and has been making steady progress, with awareness campaigns for energy efficiency (including monitoring in Houses) and Fairtrade. In 2008 we installed solar thermal panels on Fen House and are currently investigating solar electric panels for West House.
To read about some of our achievements, click on "News Archive" in the menu on the left.
Eco-Schools at The Leys
The Leys is a Green Flag School, an Award received from Eco-Schools UK in June 2010. Indeed, we were one of the first secondary-level schools in the East of England to receive it. “Eco-Schools” is an international programme operating in 46 countries, which grew out of the United Nations’ 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Its primary purpose is to encourage the integration of Sustainable Development into all facets of school life.
The Eco-Schools Action Team is a pupil-driven group with representation from all houses and year groups. Teenagers are far better than staff in engaging their peers in taking on these big issues through imaginative and persuasive campaigns! Their brief is simple: to focus on one or more of nine areas which form the Eco-Schools framework:
- Water
- Biodiversity
- Energy
- Global Perspectives
- Healthy Living
- Litter
- School Grounds
- Transport
- Waste
In recent years, increased focus on waste reduction and extended provision of recycling around the School site has led to a 2/3 reduction in waste to landfill. Additional focus on water-saving has seen repeated annual reductions of as much as 10% being achieved.
Our biggest achievement has been improved energy management and demand reduction. The Eco-Schools Action Team’s environmental reviews – necessary to progress in the awards scheme – have helped the School to increase its energy efficiency through improved insulation as well as generating energy on site through the use of solar hot-water panels.
The Eco-Schools Action Team is led by the Senior Prefects who report to the School’s Sustainability Committee on a regular basis.
Fairtrade at The Leys
The School Shop has stocked items carrying the Fairtrade Mark for some years and frequently expands its range. In 2007 a school-wide awareness campaign was launched, with attention brought to the issue annually.
All the School's coffee and tea is Fairtrade certified. In due course we plan to widen our sourcing of Fairtrade products.