COP26 certainly provided a wake-up call for the world and inspired our students to help make a change. The data, statistics and urgent warnings that came from world leaders and scientists, lead our Sixth Formers to think about what action they could take to make a difference on the environment.
The Maidenhead Rotary Club offered young people from the area the opportunity to take part in a competition to do exactly that; to design a solution to a global crisis that could be started in our area on the theme of ‘Climate Change/Carbon Reduction’.
Our sixth form students spent a week exploring, investigating, researching and collaborating to create an environmental sustainability project that met this objective. Four teams successfully made it to the Rotary judges and one Year 12 team wowed by winning the local round! Their fast-fashion stopping 'clothes swap' app has now been entered into the regional round, taking on ideas from schools across the South East.
'Fast fashion has a significant human and environmental impact on the planet and is the biggest contributor to pollution.
Jess Year 12
Jess outlined how clothes which are generally non-biodegradable, use copious amounts of water at the production stage and overflow from landfill sites when discarded. Teammate Grace described how much her group wanted 'to make a difference by raising awareness and cause a positive effect on the climate'. Sophie highlighted the speed at which 'fashion items can become on trend through the power of influencers on social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram.
The problem applies to everyone and everyone needs to make a change.
Grace Year 12
Swapping clothes is certainly one means of reducing the impact of fast fashion. 'There are so many fabulous clothes in charity shops. Individuals keen to establish their own fashion style often customise pre-owned clothes to create their own look', commented Yasmin who explained the planned Sixth Form Clothes Swap Shop would both raise awareness of the problem and also demonstrate how much fun it is to create a unique style.
The winning team intends to follow up on this Sixth Form event with a similar opportunity for pupils in the Senior School, so watch this space!
Written by Mrs Rogers - Head of Sixth Form
