Y12s Georgia and Jason inspiring their audience
Saturday 19 October, in follow up to the Local Democracy Week launch of The Three Rivers Climate Change Strategy, the PTFA and associated presented a Carbon Capture talk. Two of our Year 12 Environmental team Georgia and Jason, and Year 10 members of the Eco-gardening team, Beth, Llia and Abigail, made brilliant presentations at the Carbon Capture talk in the ASC on Saturday morning where they talked about Climate change issues and our conference.
Our guests mainly came from Hexham and they were blown away by our students speaking out so confidently about the issues. The upshot is that the guests are going back to Hexham full of enthusiasm for moving things on there too.
Our speaker, Prof. David Manning from Newcastle Uni’s Soil Science Dept. is also now considering ways of helping to bring more students together from several schools to meet up at the Uni and consider climate change and how to mitigate this through carbon capture methods.
David showing a slide of the carbon changing into calcium carbonate
The message about turning pledges into individual and group actions to make things happen is travelling! Our first carbon capture bed with a 50/50 mix of compost and volcanic dust capturing CO2 and changing it into calcium carbonate so it’s trapped in the ground. It’s spring bulb planting time.
Work experience plays a huge role in Sixth Form and students are encouraged to seek regular work placements. The experiences should be varied and challenging and used as an opportunity to rule out careers just as much as they can confirm aspirations and intentions. One of our Year 12 students had a hugely rewarding experience with Jump, a placement he arranged himself, thanks to networking at events that we offer like King Edward’s Inspires.
We celebrate each and every student’s individual successes and endeavours, and are genuinely delighted at the range of destinations and opportunities our students explore after Sixth Form. Our departing Head Boy, Luke Bailey, is taking up a place at Harvard University. Another student who is headed for the USA is Rory Leonard, who will take up a place on an athletics scholarship at the University of Arkansas.
In particular the Debate Society recently entered a team of eight students into the regional round of the European Youth Parliament. Given the high standard of the other debaters we were honoured to be chosen as the winners. As a result the team have qualified to proceed to the National Session of the European Youth Parliament in Liverpool this September. This is a four-day event that will bring together 150 participants from across the UK and Europe to engage with the theme: