GCSE students recognised by Sir David Attenborough

In their efforts to embed the College’s sustainability goals into the English curriculum, our GCSE English students have been learning all about climate change in their lessons and have even now received recognition from Sir David Attenborough himself as a result!

As part of their GCSE English lessons, our students have been channelling their focus onto the ever-growing impact of human activity on our planet, and using their persuasive writing techniques, have each written a letter to Sir David expressing their views. After completing their letters, 7 were selected to be sent to Sir David in a bid to catch the attention of the environmental legend himself.

The letters sent to Sir David covered topics such as smarter recycling of single-use plastics to create more eco-friendly resources, including more durable and eco-friendly currency options. With GCSE English teacher Kathryn Halliday adding “I was impressed by the variety and creativity in the ideas the learners were putting forward. They were all so incredibly passionate about the planet and our natural world”.

A few months later, coincidentally landing on the same day as GCSE results day, our students received a handwritten letter of acknowledgement from Sir David Attenborough himself.

GCSE English student Lucie Hirst commented “I have always had a keen interest in the environment and how to look after what we have, so I really enjoyed researching and writing on this topic. I was so thrilled to have my work acknowledged by Sir David Attenborough, who is such an inspiration to me”.

While classmate Ivan Liubchenko also added “When I heard the news of our letters having a response from Sir David, I was flabbergasted, realising how much my thoughts actually have value.”

Receiving such a prestigious letter of acknowledgment from Sir David Attenborough has served to further emphasise our success as a College in achieving our sustainability  goals. In the academic year of 2023/24 alone, we have been one of only 3 institutions awarded the CLAD Catalyst Award for delivering Carbon Literacy Training to approximately 820 students as part of the College’s ‘Carbon Literacy Week’.

GCSE Teacher Kathryn Halliday concluded, “the students were absolutely thrilled to receive a hand-written acknowledgement from Sir David a few months later! They should be incredibly proud of their achievements.” And we hope, as a College, such an honourable acknowledgement will serve to further inspire our students to continue and scale their sustainability efforts.