Pupils at The Bicester School have been working on a project to make the town more sustainable.
In a project planned by teachers, engineering and environmental consultants as a way of integrating education about climate change into a variety of subjects, the Year 10 students were presented with realistic climate change projections and possible solutions by multinational engineering and environmental company Stantec.
The project asked students to research how their local area is responding to the climate challenge, and to develop their preferred solution for tackling climate change that would benefit the local community.
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One of the judges, James McAllister-Jones, head of planning - Eastern and Western, from property group Thakeham, said: “It was really great to hear from all the groups about how we can address climate change at a local scale. I thought all the groups did a great job of identifying potential solutions.”
Oliver Horwood, a Year 10 student, said: “We often feel that the problem is too big and too far away but this project taught me how we can make a difference.”
Representatives from Stantec worked with the students on planning local solutions to the global problem in a project which engaged youngsters in a variety of subject areas.
Geography lessons included a background lecture on climate change, insight from industry experts, and the students went on field surveys at four sites in Bicester
Maths lessons were used for processing the data and creating graphs and charts.
And English lessons were where the students planned and presented their solutions.
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On May 27, each team presented their ideas to a panel of judges from Stantec and Thakeham.
Students were asked to demonstrate their understanding of climate change, to explain how their team had worked together and discuss what idea they had chosen to deliver a more sustainable future for Bicester.
The winning team was chosen based on presentation and teamwork skills, quality and innovation of the idea and completeness of response to questions asked.
The solutions the students proposed were for solar panels on all the new housing; wind turbines along all railway lines and motorway; rechargeable electric scooters in the urban area with charging points at housing developments; and more green spaces and green routes around Bicester for bikes, scooters and walkers.
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The winning team showed clearly how their idea could work and how it would address a range of UN sustainable development goals.
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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF
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