Year 8 Excalibre Project – ‘How can we make BHS a more sustainable school?’

On Friday 4^th July we held the final presentations for the year 8 Excalibre project; this is an extra-curriculum project to develop students’ soft skills and to encourage a sense of community, through a focus on sustainability.
 
Students have been working on their project ideas and actions plans for the past two months and the final was a showcase of the ten best projects.  The judging panel, made up of some members of the SLT including co-headteachers Ms Andress and Mr Mackintosh, had a difficult time judging the teams for 1st, 2^nd and 3^rd place prizes.  Ultimately, it was the teams who best met the project brief who impressed the most.
 
Here’s what Ms Foster (vice principal and chair of the judging panel) had to say about the winning teams:
 
1^st place: Team ‘Eco Essence’ – the panel was deeply impressed by the research and school specific context that gave rise to the ideas that this group presented. We were pleased to see consideration given to core stakeholders in a carefully considered implementation plan. Which, if achieved, would have tangible benefits for students at Beal and local residents for years to come. We also felt that the quality of presentation was exemplary and that the group had clearly defined roles and responsibilities. 
 
Joint 2^nd place: Teams ‘Green Souls‘ and ‘Green Guardians’ – both groups demonstrated a clear rationale for their ideas and linked this to their knowledge of BHS. Presentations were carefully choreographed, and teams worked well together to produce their presentations. It was also clear that there had been a significant effort put into each presentation, with the ‘commitment to the cause’ of both groups coming across strongly. 
 
We hope to continue to work with students towards implementing some of these ideas in the next academic year. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated staff and student body to work with towards our sustainability goals.
 
Here’s what the winning team (Eco Essence) had to say about their experience:
 
“During our time in the Excalibre project, we worked hard and came together to impress the panel. We took time outside of school to call and meet up to discuss the project and presentation, and to figure out how we wanted everything to be carried out. We really enjoyed this experience and are glad that our hard work has paid off” – Serena, Sharan, Hajra & Diya.