Following the 26th United Nations Climate Change (COP26) hosted in Glasgow this last week, the girls have been exploring how they can make an impact, whether it is consciously turning off lights or turning off the tap whilst they brush their teeth.

They have been learning about the significant impact that decisions from COP26 will bring, and the importance of each country’s pledge and commitment to lessening their carbon footprint. The girls have been fascinated by the actions of different influential world leaders in attempting to combat climate change and are determined to make their own positive contribution.

Following their geography work on deforestation last half term, Year 4 were delighted to hear about the exciting announcement that world leaders have pledged to end deforestation by 2030. What they found energising was the expansive list of committed nations, and as a result Year 4 are already planning how they can hold world leaders accountable to this and are considering writing a joint letter to all the country leaders who signed it. They have also created some excellent artwork to include about the eyes of the world being on world leaders. The excitement of the Junior School and COP26 is not limited to Year 4. Year 5 had great fun in their STEAM lesson calculating their carbon footprints and created exciting artwork to illustrate this. In addition, we had an informative assembly on the conference and each year group continued their learning, debate and discussion during form time, homework and in current affairs for Year 5 and Year 6.

Our conversations at school are based around building optimism through reliable information, talking about solutions and understanding the small ways we can reduce our individual footprint. This is important as recent studies have highlighted the growth of eco-anxiety amongst children. If you feel your daughter may be affected by this, the following article is a particularly insightful read: Helping Kids Deal with Climate Anxiety

Miss Adams