Solihull School
We are working hard to address all the impacts of school operations on the environment, and all pupils from 3-18 are taught a range of sustainability topics, to encourage them to think more about the world they are growing up in and how they can make it better in the future.
Mr Chris Mason, Sustainability Co-Ordinator and Teacher of Economics and Business, explains more about sustainability initiatives both within and beyond the curriculum.
"We take our commitment to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our pupils very seriously, and our approach to supporting the local, national and international environment is no different, as evidenced by the publication of our first Impact Report. All pupils, from the Nursery to the Upper Sixth, are taught a range of sustainability topics - not just in Geography, but across a plethora of subjects.
"At the Prep, Forest School promotes activities for pupils to engage with their own environment and become comfortable with the flora and fauna around them at an early age. Prep pupils also learn about the sustainability of our settlements, rainforests and deforestation, biomes and climate change, and write letters to our local MP on sustainability issues.
"Design Technology teaches about the importance of minimising waste, and the use of sustainable materials; Food & Nutrition educates about the sustainability of farming and fishing; Economics students learn about the economic benefits of and market failures around the provision of food subsidies, and about carbon tax markets investigating their impact upon costs of production on goods which have negative externalities.
"Our broad co-curricular programme also includes sustainability groups across both campuses. The Roots & Shoots Club in the Prep School has its own garden area, which takes pride of place between the Junior School and the Refectory. Here, you will see a range of plants, including herbs and flowers - many of which have been replanted from our own flower beds. The pupils also take pride in building bird feeders, and will be raising money in their Megathlon for a series of ideas that are designed to promote improvements in the already thriving biodiversity of the Prep School.
"Our Senior School Growing Club also restarted this year, and I’m pleased to report that the four new planters that were funded by our catering partners, Thomas Franks, now boast Rosemary, edible flowers, potatoes, garlic and onions as part of our seasonal planting scheme. This has enabled pupils to learn more about the growing process, from seed to plate. Water is taken from the newly installed water butt that takes rainwater from one of the drains on the Chapel, to minimise our water usage.
"Pupils are also given the opportunity to hone their debating skills through our attendance at the Solihull Schools ICN Climate Conference, held annually at the Civic Suite in Solihull. Here, selected pupils are given the chance to represent an assigned country and debate with other local schools about important ecological decisions around commitments towards environmental and sustainability goals.
"Members of our Eco-Action Group decide upon three different topics, from a choice of ten provided by Eco-Schools Green Flag. This year, our focus has been on Global Citizenship, Biodiversity and Transport.
"A great number of the charity fundraising initiatives that we undertake are targeted towards sustainable charities. There are a great many to list them all, but I do want to highlight the upcoming non-uniform day at the end of the school year will see monies raised donated to ecobirmingham’s outdoor education for local primary schools in areas less fortunate than ours, giving their pupils the opportunity to visit the charity's own forest schools.
"Thank you to those of you that completed our Transport Survey across our parent and staff body. This helped our Eco-Action Group analyse the data, and we estimate that we generate 439.75 tonnes of CO2 emissions (tCO2e) per year across all parents and staff, or 0.22 tCO2e per person by travelling to and from school over the course of a year. We will be using this data as a baseline for future Transport Surveys.
"We also ran a recent ‘No Idling’ survey in the Senior School to try to encourage car users to switch off their cars when parked. In the course of just one minute, the equivalent of 150 balloons of noxious gases are released into the atmosphere, which are proven to harm young lungs. We estimated that on that one spring day alone, 34% of cars were idling, which together combined to create one hour and thirty-two minutes of engine run time (27.27kg of CO2e). That’s 13,875 balloons worth of CO2 e on just one warm and pleasant afternoon – something I hope we can significantly cut, with your help.
"As you may be aware, our stated aim is to be operationally carbon-neutral by 2050, and we are determined to achieve this goal for the benefit of our pupils and their future families too.
"We have made great strides in this ambition, and I am pleased to report that our carbon intensity is down 23.13% (tCO2e generated per pupil) from our initial data collection in 2021-22, with total emissions down 20.90% over the same period.
"For those unfamiliar with the different Scopes, broadly, Scope 1 emissions come from what we burn, e.g. fuel and gas for heating/water, Scope 2 from our electricity usage (which is all sourced from renewable energy, but must be reported as though it is sourced from fossil fuels), and our reported Scope 3 is from staff vehicle travel for claimed mileage.
"As a staff base, we have looked at and continue to assess ways that we can help to minimise our carbon footprint. This year, we’ve seen the removal of PCs from classrooms and offices across the Senior School, with those machines replacing older equipment within the administrative offices. There’s also been a move towards electric vehicles for our Grounds Team, as these become more economically viable. We’ve previously replaced old boilers and altered the settings on existing heating systems to maximise their efficiency and timings, so they only come on as and when required.
"We were proud when we were awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag award with distinction for 2024-25. This was in recognition of all our achievements last academic year throughout the school, and we have every confidence that we will be recertified to the same level this coming year.
"There can be no doubt about the climate challenges that the world faces. It is therefore tremendously pleasing to be able to report how seriously we take our role, both as educators and an enterprise. Not just in working towards solutions ourselves, but in engendering a norm for pupils to be more environmentally minded, such that everyone can benefit."