Introducing Our Sustainability Leads and Our Commitment to a Greener School

We are pleased to announce an important step in our commitment to a more sustainable future at Wallington High School for Girls: the appointment of two official Sustainability Leads, Mrs J Henderson and Mrs T Corfield.

This development supports the Department for Education’s (DfE) Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, which requires all education settings to have a nominated Sustainability Lead and a Climate Action Plan in place by 2025. As a school community, we are proud to be taking proactive steps towards meeting—and exceeding—these expectations.

Our Sustainability Vision

Our ambition is to embed sustainability across every aspect of school life—from our curriculum and operations to our engagement with families and the wider community. We aim not only to reduce our environmental impact but also to equip our students with the knowledge, understanding, and confidence they need to navigate a world shaped by climate change.

Our newly appointed Sustainability Leads will play a key role in coordinating this work and supporting our long-term goals.

What Will Our Sustainability Leads Do?

Working closely with the school’s leadership team and the Girls’ Learning Trust, Mrs Henderson and Mrs Corfield will drive forward our climate and sustainability strategy by:

• Developing and implementing our school’s Climate Action Plan

• Integrating meaningful and age-appropriate climate education throughout the curriculum

• Coordinating initiatives to improve energy efficiency, biodiversity, and waste reduction across the school

• Engaging and empowering students and staff to take practical action

• Building partnerships with community groups to share expertise and best practice

Our Work in Line with National Guidance

The DfE’s strategy sets out four key action areas, all of which will underpin our approach:

Decarbonisation – Reducing carbon emissions through improved energy efficiency and monitoring, while exploring renewable energy opportunities.

Climate Education and Green Careers – Ensuring students have a rich understanding of climate science and access to guidance on emerging green career pathways.

Resilience to Climate Change – Adapting our school site for the future, including reducing the risk of overheating and improving climate resilience.

A Better Environment – Enhancing biodiversity through planting projects, tree growth, and improving air quality on our site.

How Parents and Carers Can Get Involved

Our sustainability plans will be most successful when supported by the whole school community. We warmly invite parents and carers to join us on this journey in the following ways:

• Join our Sustainability Team – Later this year, we will establish a parent and community sub-group to support our sustainability projects. Volunteers will be very welcome.

• Share your expertise – Parents with skills in areas such as gardening, construction, project management, or environmental policy are encouraged to get in touch.

• Support sustainable habits at home – Encourage recycling, reduced use of single-use plastics, and energy and water conservation.

• Choose sustainable travel where possible – Walking, cycling, or using public transport for the school run helps reduce our carbon footprint.

• Stay updated – Look out for regular news, progress updates, and tips in our newsletters and on our website.

Looking Ahead

This marks the beginning of an exciting and important journey for our school. By working together—students, staff, parents, and our wider community—we can build a more sustainable, resilient environment for current pupils and for generations to come.

We look forward to sharing more with you throughout the year.

 

Student Leadership

In January 2026 we launched 2 new roles to empower our students and increase the leadership opportunities linked to sustainability at WHSG.  These roles are listed below:

 

1. Student Sustainability Ambassadors (SSA’s)

-1 person per form group

-The role lasts for 1 year

-Students nominate/vote for this representative in form time

-Tasks include: feedback to the eco-school committee with the form’s ideas for the school sustainability plan, running regular tasks/quizzes/challenges in form time, reading out sustainability notices, running an assembly for their year group with sustainability updates (alongside the other ambassadors from the year group)

 

2. Eco-school committee member

-2 people per year group

-The role lasts for 1 year

-Students have to apply for this role using an application form.  Candidates are then shortlisted and interviewed.

-Tasks include:  Meeting with the eco-school committee regularly and working together to help WHSG gain a green flag accreditation.  This is a student led project, where you follow 7 steps to help us become a more sustainable school.  For more information you can visit: https://www.eco-schools.org.uk/framework/

 

In addition to this, a new Sixth Form Prefect role was created for “Environment and Sustainability”. 

 

Eco-Schools Application

• We are now working on Steps 3, 4 & 5 of our application (7 steps in total), planning to complete our application in Summer 2027.
• This year the Eco- Committee have completed an environmental review and chosen 3 areas to work on: Biodiversity, Litter and Healthy Living
• The Student Sustainability Ambassadors from each tutor group have met with the Eco-Committee to share ideas from each form about how we can take action at WHSG in these 3 focus areas. 
• Using all this information, the Eco-Committee have created an Action Plan and are undertaking projects to meet our goals in the 3 chosen areas above.
• Step 4 involves integrating sustainability into our curriculum, with at least 3 subjects delivering a lesson linked to climate change across the year. 
• Step 5 encourages the Eco-Committee to get loud about their work whilst involving others in as many ways as they can.  So far they have created posters for the student bulletin, organised poster competitions and delivered assemblies to each year group.