2026

RSPB Big School’s Birdwatch

On Monday 26^th January we took part in the Big Schools Birdwatch.  16 students came along to help count the birds seen on the school grounds to give us an idea of the health of bird species in our local area, but to also help us measure the current biodiversity of our school.  We saw a range of birds including Robins, Magpies, Herons, Ring necked parakeets, Redwings, a large number of Feral pidegons and Mr Parkinson even spotted a Buzzard!  

Thank you to all the students and staff involved, you did a great job despite the cold! 

Mrs Henderson & Mrs Corfield

• Recycling

We have increased recycling bins and improved bin signage to help reduce waste and increase recycling rates.  Every classroom now has a general waste and recycling bin with posters to identify what should go in each bin.  We also now have “bin stations” set up around the school site in outdoor areas where students can separate their waste.

 

• Supporting Bird Life at WHSG

New Swift and Swallow boxes were installed around the school to encourage more bird life on site and improve our biodiversity (see image below).

 

 

• The Great Big School Clean (March 2026)

112 students took part in a litter pick during the great big school clean. 8Seacole were the form who showed up the most, with representatives from their form coming to every event we ran!  They were given an edible reward for this-so well done to them 😊

 

Together we removed 6 full bags of litter from across the school site (see photo), which is a shocking amount of rubbish, so together we made a real difference to the environment.  Following this, litter picking equipment has been available to borrow at lunchtimes and we have a regular team of volunteers (mainly from 8Seacole) who do this.

 

• World Water Day (22 March 2026)

 

All form groups took part in a quiz to celebrate world water day and raise awareness about the importance of having safe and reliable access to water .  This year the focus was on the critical relationship between water, women, and gender equality.  For more info please visit: https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day

 

Quiz Top scorers were: 13WWS, 11PAN, 10SEA, 10JOH

 

• Earth Day (April 22nd 2026)

 

The Eco-Committee ran a poster competition and a quiz to celebrate Earth Day.  This is an annual event to raise awareness about environmental protection, promote sustainability, and combat issues like pollution and climate change. Launched in 1970, it mobilizes over a billion people in more than 190 countries to take action, protect natural resources, and push for ecological policy

 

• Renewable Energy

We now have 58 Solar panels on the E-Block that are generating renewable energy for WHSG.  These panels were first installed when the block was built around 2014 but have not been working for about a decade.  Our premises team worked with an external company to get these back up and running and we are excited to review the impact of these later in the year.

 

 

• Improving Biodiversity at the front of school (May 2026)

We took part in “No Mow May” on the lawns at the front of school to encourage wildlife and boost biodiversity.  We have now decided to leave this area to grow naturally and have enjoyed seeing some beautiful flowers bloom, as seen in the images below.

 

  

 

• World Environment Day (5th June 2026)

On 5^th June we celebrated world environment day with a non-uniform day and raised over £500 for the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (Home | WWT).  This money will help them restore and protect important wetland habitats across the UK.  Students were encouraged to dress up in bird themed outfit (see below) and we had some fantastic outfits!  Students also attended a screening of “Wild London” presented by David Attenborough.

 

 

• Learning through Landscapes- visit and filming (March and June 2026)

In March we were visited by a company called Learning through Landscapes as we were chosen to take part in their Climate School 180 programme. 

“The Climate School 180 project challenges schools to embed climate change education across the curriculum and use the school grounds as a learning environment to support all pupils’ understanding of climate change. Supporting a collaborative approach between experts, educators, and pupils, the process creates opportunities to assess and adapt school grounds to mitigate the impacts of climate change, using nature based solutions to improve climate resilience and wellbeing across the school community.” (Learning through Landscapes, 2026)

 

A group of WHSG staff and students worked together to complete an audit of the school and discussed some possible solutions to help us adapt our practises and become more climate resilient.  The company were impressed with one of our planned projects to try and reduce overheating along the G corridor by using benches outside the windows with bamboo planters to create natural shade.  They returned to film this project underway in June and the Eco-Committee took part in this.  The project is still work in progress, but the image below shows two of the benches that were planted by the students during filming:

 

• Boost Our Biodiversity Events (July 2026)

A series of events are planned for June/July to help boost biodiversity onsite at WHSG. This includes conducting biodiversity surveys, building bug hotels, bee waterers and bird baths.  Watch this space for photos of the completed projects!

 

 

The bug hotel is in progress!  It needs to be filled with more materials (e.g. pine cones, sticks, dead leaves, broken plant pots) as they are donated but we have made a great start.  Over the summer we are hoping a more permanent roof structure and sides will be added to protect the bug hotel from the elements.  Well done to the eco-committee so far