A group of ten Year 7 pupils at Badminton School in Westbury-on-Trym is celebrating after being named as the winners of the npower Climate Cops national geography competition.
Climate Cops forms part of the npower Brighter Futures programme which is linked to the Government's national framework for sustainable schools. The programme aims to empower the next generation to take charge of their environment from their first day at school to their first day at work and shows pupils how they can be heroes in tackling the causes of climate change, both in their homes and in their schools.
The girls had six weeks to raise awareness of an environmental issue within the school community before making a 3-5 minute film about their project to send to the judges. The Badminton girls focused on saving water and set about producing an assembly for Junior School pupils aged 4-11 years of age. Using the Climate Cops metaphor, the girls ran their assembly as policewomen, investigating the mystery disappearance of ‘Walter the water droplet’.
The Badminton team was made up of ten pupils: Martha Cotterell from Clifton , Ellen Wragg from Leigh Woods, Imogen Madan from Chew Magna, Nkiruka Ogbogbo from Nigeria, Hannah Hodnett from Coombe Dingle, Harriet Kan from Hong Kong, Shirley Cheng from China, Gina Burley-Staffieri from Nailsea, and Alex Freeman and Charlotte Hill, both from Westbury on Trym.
The judges stated: “We were particularly impressed with Badminton's creative and professional stop-motion animation which focused on how to save water when showering, brushing teeth and washing the car. The students researched the topic well and involved the whole school through assemblies showing excellent communication skills.”
Commented Headmistress, Mrs Jan Scarrow: “Competitions such as these give girls the opportunity to compete on a national level and the opportunity to see how they can positively affect their environment. Not only has it given them the opportunity to teach younger pupils about how to save water, the competition has enabled them to make an excellent film and use their IT skills to the full.”
As their prize, the Badminton team has been invited to join the other nine winning schools for a week of outdoor adventure and environmental awareness training, at the npower Outward Bound Trust in the Lake District later this year, hosted by Geography legend Ben Fogle.