Eco School
As of July 2024 St Peter's has been awarded Eco School status with Distinction!!
After we submitted our application, the Eco-School's team sent us an email highlighting a number of things they were pleased with including:
‘’Thank you so much for sharing examples of pupil’s work in your application, they really helped our team understand and appreciate the environmental learning occurring in your school. "
"Your Eco-Committee have used an impressive variety of methods to promote sustainability and keep their school community informed about their Eco-Schools’ initiatives throughout the academic year. "
"We are thrilled to see the incredible successes you’ve achieved since joining the Eco-Schools initiative. The planting of over 140 trees was a fantastic achievement. The Forest School program has been outstanding, with every class benefiting from a well-structured schedule of engaging activities. Moreover, the Gardening Club's early achievements, from preparing raised beds to harvesting the first crops of vegetables and herbs, are truly commendable. "
"Congratulations! Your application truly stood out, and we’re thrilled to award you an Eco-Schools’ Green Flag with Distinction! Keep up the fantastic work next year!"
You are able to view the full email below. Well done everyone on this fantastic achievement and thank you for all the support our St Peter's families have given us to get this award!
Our 2024/25 Projects:-
Coat Swap
In November the Eco Committee organised a second hand adults and children coat swap. This was a chance to bring in any coats that children had grown out of or coats that people had grown tired of and see them go to a new home! We sorted through everyone’s donations and they were then made available for everyone to help themselves to for either themselves or their children.
We saved the environment from a little bit of carbon which would have been used making new coats!
Forest School Tidy up and pond building!
On November 30th we had a Forest School tidy and built a dipping pond! A few families came and helped and we enjoyed hot chocolate by the fire as a reward for our hard work! Thank you so much everyone for coming along!
Christmas Jumper recycle
We held a stall providing second hand Christmas jumpers! Lots of people donated jumpers for the Christmas Jumper day we held in December!
Tree Planting - Hawkenbury Rec
On Tuesday 21st January, Mercury class went to Hawkenbury Rec to help plant new trees as part of the Kent Plan Tree project. They aim to plant over 2800 trees in different Tunbridge Wells Parks throughout this winter.
Mercury class planted 150 trees! Well done guys!!
RSPB Big School's Birdwatch
On Wednesday 5th February, the Eco Committee took part in the Big School's Birdwatch! We arrived at school at 7:30am ready to sit for an hour to watch and record the birds we saw on our school grounds.
It was 2 degrees so it was quite chilly but the children were amazing and were so enthusiastic. We saw lots of birds and had some interesting conversations about different species.
We also enjoyed some hot chocolate to warm us up!!
Bag2School
We will be organising another Bag2School collection this year on 25th March!
Are you going to do a clear out this half term? Do you have any unwanted clothing and other items? Then why don’t you bring them along to school! We are arranging for a company called Bag2School to come and collect second hand clothing and other items which they then sort and distribute to other countries to sell in second hand shops and market stalls. This prevents our clothes from going to landfill and helps the circular economy. At the same time you will be raising funds for St Peter’s as we get paid per kilo of clothing that they collect!
Bag2School is the UK’s leading textile recycler and fundraiser working with schools and since its inception in 1999 it has now paid out over £48 million.
A recent DEFRA report has shown that textile collection schemes are helping to reduce the volume of textiles discarded as municipal solid waste. However it is a fact that as a nation we still send 350,000 tonnes of textiles to landfill every year.
By getting involved in our Bag2School collection, you have an opportunity to sort through your cupboards and wardrobes and donate unwanted textiles – this can include adults’ and children’s clothes, shoes (tied together please), hats, belts, handbags and soft toys, (please refer to https://bag2school.com for full details). In addition to raising much needed funds it will also raise awareness amongst the children of the benefits of recycling and reuse.
You could ask grandparents, friends and neighbours to have a sort out as well!
We will be giving your child a bag to fill w/c 3rd March 2025 but you are able to use your own bin bags if you prefer. Bag2School will be collecting from St Peter’s School on Tuesday 25th March. You can start to drop off your bags ready for collection from Friday 21st March but not before please as we don't have space to store the bags long term.
Many thanks for helping the Eco Committee with it’s task of making our school more Eco Friendly!
As well as our ongoing eco committee projects, this year the children have been very busy in our Forest School! They have created a dipping pond and made bird feeders and bug hotels as well as lots of other exciting things. You can see what they've been up to in the link.
The children in Gardening Club have been busy planting vegetables and herbs. They have planted potatoes, tomatoes, beans, mint, thyme, rosemary, artichokes and lots more! They have also been busy tidying up our Willow arch. At the end of last term they were able to harvest what they'd planted in Spring! We had enough delicious produce to set up a small shop! All proceeds went back to buy equipment for Gardening club.
We have introduced some new Eco Routines in school!
Tidy Up Tuesdays - Litter picking equipment is supplied on the playing field and the children are encouraged to use it to pick up any litter they find while they're on their break! It's surprising how popular this! They do a great job of finding and tidying litter! Litter can cause a lot of damage and even death to wildlife.
Walk on Wednesdays - If it's practical and possible, families are encouraged to walk to school on Wednesdays. This helps us to reduce our carbon emissions as a school. Plus it's great exercise!!
We have become Friends of the Honey Bee!!
We will post all their newsletters here!
We will keep you updated about our next Eco Missions!
Please find here a link to give you more information about what we're trying to achieve. Home - Eco Schools (eco-schools.org.uk)
What impact has Eco Schools had this past year? Please find their report HERE