LP Students Attend COP28!

On Tuesday 5th December a group of Leighton Park students ventured to their own COP28 to address the same pressing concerns of the Climate Conference taking place in the United Arab Emirates. Fortunately their travel plans were much more sustainable as they racked up zero airmiles getting to Wokingham-based Holme Grange School, hosts of the event in partnership with Inter-Climate.

Although it was a mini-version of the real COP28, the calibre of those involved was top notch with speakers Councillor Sarah Kerr, Resh Thorpe, Wokingham Borough Council’s Climate Emergency officer and Dylan Parkes, from the University of Reading in attendance. There were also a number of other schools engaging with the opportunity to put sustainability at the forefront of education including Shinfield Primary, Charters, St Crispins and Kings Academy.

There were 16 teams in total with students from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10  organised into teams of four with each team responsible for representing a country. Leighton Park pupils were representing Bangladesh and the USA. In preparation for the event they had to read and research their country’s position and then creating an opening statement for the conference. After the mid-morning break the focus moved on local action with each school sharing the actions already in place in their educational setting to reduce carbon emissions together with ‘Climate Ambitions’ – ideas about how their school could do even more.

Reflecting on the event in advance Headteacher, Claire Robinson said, “I’m lucky to work with such a dedicated staff who care passionately about sustainability and the future of the plant. As educators we need to facilitate opportunities for our pupils to explore key issues that as global citizens they will be involved with.”