St Bede’s Catholic High School, Lytham

Laying the foundations for sustainable education

St Bede's Catholic High School in Lytham is aiming to become one of the first ever carbon-neutral schools by installing renewable energy equipment and creating a green culture throughout the school. Staff and pupils are involved in a wide range of carbon reduction initiatives, from recycling and reducing water wastage to growing fruit and vegetables on school allotments.

The school's overall goal is to become a centre for sustainable education. Headteacher Phil Grice explains, "Sustainable education is about pupils viewing themselves and the world in a different way, so we're developing the school grounds as a resource to help pupils learn about climate, agriculture, biodiversity and other environmental issues."

Reviewing energy use

St Bede's worked with an energy consultant to assess all aspects of the school's energy use and identify steps it could take to reduce carbon emissions and save money. "We've already implemented a number of quick no-cost and low-cost measures, such as improving insulation, switching off lights and using recycle bins," says Phil.

"Renewable energy sources will definitely play a big part in the school's future - we've got plans to install two ground source heat pumps and we're also looking into options for installing solar panels."

Creating cultural change

Phil explains that changing the school's culture is a critical part of the project. "We knew from the outset that we'd need to initiate a shift in culture to achieve a long-term commitment to sustainability and reducing our carbon emissions. Our projects offer something for all students, whether they're interested in taking practical action, raising awareness of climate change issues or influencing the future development of the school. We're seeing a growing commitment to sustainable practices across the whole school community."

Sharing insights

St Bede's is developing a website to help other secondary schools make the move from recognising the need to take action on sustainability to implementing real change. The website will enable pupils to calculate their carbon savings at home and school and provide teachers with useful resources such as examples of successful grant applications.

Phil comments: "In the past year we've learnt a lot about embedding sustainability into school life and we want to share our insights with other schools. Our aim is to collate all of the advice and resources that we would have loved to have access to at the start of our project, to give other schools a head start on their journeys."

An update on the project and how it’s developed since launching can be read here.