Green Flag Success!

Blackpool Sixth Gains Top Environmental Award

This academic year, students at The Blackpool Sixth Form College have continued to lead the way in promoting sustainability and raising environmental awareness among their school community, including peers, staff members, and the wider local community. Their exceptional efforts have once again been recognised with the prestigious, internationally recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation. As was the case last year, the award is at Distinction level.

The Eco-Schools programme, established in 1994, has been inspiring young environmentalists for over 30 years. It has grown into a global movement, with Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation awarded to schools in more than 100 countries. In England alone, the programme reaches over 1 million young people each year, empowering them to make a positive impact on our planet.

Since Blackpool Sixth first began their Eco Schools sustainability journey in 2024, their accomplishments have included planting over 1000 trees, growing their own vegetables, reducing the college’s carbon footprint and cutting single-use plastic waste.

This year, students and staff impressively built on these achievements by tackling three key Eco Schools themes: biodiversity, marine and healthy living. Working together, they created a detailed and impactful year-long action plan to address these priorities. Activities included establishing a new wildlife area with wildflowers and native trees; running a ‘Cut Your Carbon’ campaign in college and organising an oceans-themed week that included an art competition for primary schools. Members of the Eco Committee also led on the organisation and hosting of the first ever Lancashire Youth Climate Conference in October 2024.

Speaking about their achievements, staff member and Eco Schools Coordinator at the college, Jon McLeod said, “Students and staff in our Eco Committee and our Eco Action enrichment group have worked so hard on so many different projects. It’s great to see their work acknowledged by this Green Flag with Distinction award. We believe it's more and more important that young people are given the opportunity to have a positive impact on the environment. They learn a lot from this work about how to plan and bring about change to the benefit of all. This experience also helps them hugely in their future studies and careers.”

Student and Eco Action group member, Ena Downes, commented, “I've really enjoyed the gardening work we've done, making new friends and having a laugh when we do it, such as that day we watered the trees and I got absolutely soaked with a hosepipe.I also liked dressing up as a shark for love our oceans week and being able to creatively input my ideas and having fun whilst doing it.”

Eco-Schools England Manager, Adam Flint, expressed: "Every year, we are amazed by the incredible efforts of young people working together to create a better future for all. Their collective impact is truly remarkable. If everyone approached the climate crisis with the same level of passion and determination, we could resolve it much faster and make it a problem of the past. At Keep Britain Tidy, we are delighted to recognise their achievements with the Eco-Schools Green Flag."

To learn more about the Eco-Schools programme and accreditation, head to www.eco-schools.org.uk.For more information about Eco Schools at Blackpool Sixth, see https://www.blackpoolsixth.ac.uk/current-students/eco-committee.