"Our pupils are involved in a number of green initiatives, such as beach cleans and local litter picks."
Gina Leary, Eco-Schools Co-ordinator, Yarm School
Pupils were tasked with finding something that they no longer used and upcycle it into something they would be more likely to use.
The winners of the competition were Amy Willis, 15, and Megan Broadhead, 15, who upcycled pallets making a bench for colleagues at Amy’s dad’s company, First Choice Labels. The competition runner up was Evie Severn, 13, who made a bedside light using a milk bottle.
Amy and Megan won eco-water bottles and Evie won an Eco wooden desk tidy, which will be put to good use for the new school term.
Amy said: “We decided to make a bench for my dad’s colleagues because they have been working really long hours through the entirety of lockdown. We wanted to give something back to them, so we decided to make a bench that they could use on breaks and to relax. I had lots of fun building it with Megan and we’re really impressed with how it turned out.
“Although we enjoyed the project, it also helped us to understand the importance of looking beyond the appearance of something that is no longer useful and thinking about how it can become something else.”
Gina Leary, Eco-School’s Co-ordinator at Yarm School, said: “Recycling and being more eco-friendly plays a big part in the curriculum here at Yarm School. As well as being a four-time-winner of the Eco-School’s Green Flag Award, we have an Eco-rep from each tutor group in school who contributes to regular meetings to move new environmental initiatives forward”.
“Our pupils are involved in a number of green initiatives, such as beach cleans and local litter picks. I’m really pleased that pupils are embracing the things they have learned by exploring creative upcycling at home. Senior School pupil Tenuk Mendis, 14, was the inspiration behind this competition after he saved some tadpoles from inside a bottle (re-introducing them into a local water course) and then recycling the bottle that he had found them in. ”
“I was impressed with all of the entries and all of the pupils should be extremely proud of their efforts.”
