BUILDING A
GREENER SCHOOL
Overview
Our Vision
Our Objectives
Our Accreditations
Initiatives & Projects
Our Carbon Footprint
Our Environment
Our Curriculum
Our Eco Committee
Our Projects
Our Events & Activities
The Future
Energy Management
Eco-Concious Knowledge Base
Active Travel
Bio-Diversity
Networking
In Summary
Support Us
Eco News Stories
“Opening our pupils’ eyes to the beauty of the natural world and their role in preserving it with open minds makes them both interested and interesting, with an instinctive curiosity to ask the more profound questions of what they can do to help”.
Mr Will Phelan - Head
Clifton High School’s vision is rooted in embedding environmental sustainability into our core values of curiosity, empathy, love and direction; elements that shape young minds to embrace their roles in the present and future world. We aim to empower our pupils to care deeply, think critically and work collectively, as upholding these responsibilities cultivates eco-conscious, compassionate and innovative leaders. We also encourage our wider community members to consider supporting the quest for a healthier planet to benefit the future of our pupils.
Driving environmental change is crucial in guiding Clifton High School pupils to become focused on sustainability, helping them advocate a sense of direction for others to also become accountable and responsible in their personal endeavours.
Clifton High School’s commitment to sustainability and eco programmes is instinctively driven by our approach to the future. We adapt to change, remain empathetic and prepare pupils for a world, beyond our School gates.
We are acutely aware, more than ever before, that children need to learn to care and protect our planet to meet our environmental, ethical and social responsibilities. This forms the basis of our Sustainability Programme’s main objective, which is to build a greener School for future generations by:
• Improving the sustainability standards of our estate
• Using sustainable and environmentally friendly products and resources
• Reviewing current School systems to integrate sustainable practices and implement eco-friendly solutions
• Reducing our carbon footprint across our School campus by re-evaluating our current carbon and energy management
The awards Clifton High School has achieved acknowledge the focus we have on staying relevant to the future.
The Eco-Schools programme provides a simple, seven-step framework that empowers young people to make a difference in their school, local community and beyond. The process tells them that they are forward-thinking in promoting youth-led environmental education and action.
An Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation asks schools to connect their eco activities to three or more of the ten Eco-Schools topics that break large, global issues such as climate change into more manageable and directed themes. After working through the seven steps during the academic year, schools, colleges and nurseries can then apply for the award within the annual application window (from 1st May to 31st July).
This process is the perfect way to acknowledge, reward and celebrate the ecological achievements of young people, clearly demonstrating that their hard work is appreciated. It provides them with the confidence and motivation needed to continue actively engaging with environmental issues throughout their lives.
Modeshift STARS aims to secure increased levels of safe, active and sustainable travel in business, education and community settings. The enterprise represents its members' needs and supports sustainable travel practitioners through a range of new and existing services.
Modeshift STARS strives towards a world in which communities are free to make healthy and sustainable travel choices, where active travel is seen as the norm.
An awareness of travelling actively is integral to Clifton High School’s overriding sustainability concept and one that sees a positive and continued percentage increase in community members' engagement.
Active travel links easily with the School’s efforts to introduce:
• Car sharing
• Cycle-to-work schemes
• Dr Bike drop-in sessions
• Scooter/bike training and storage provisions
• Park and Stride
These community-led initiatives are facilitated by annual surveys with both families and staff, tying-in with reducing our community's carbon footprint, carbon emissions, air quality efforts and the promotion of sponsored awareness walks.
Biodiversity is a long-term vision at Clifton High School and one that develops and maintains our in-house efforts. Children engage in planting and replanting schemes, building new habitats that include bird feeders, planters, wormery, ant farms and stick insect enclosures.
The longstanding, on-site beehives are an exciting and unique installation that produces our own Clifton High School honey, maintained by in-house staff members who are passionate and enthusiastic about the part they play in our children’s learning.
Pupils learn about the role bees play, as pollinators, in every aspect of the ecosystem, as they support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants, which serve as food and shelter for creatures large and small. Bees contribute to complex, interconnected eco-systems that allow a diverse number of different species to coexist.
Recycling is an ongoing project that does not go unseen in the sustainability vision of our School environment. It may be litter-
picking, utilising recycling bins or an overall understanding of food waste that, in turn, helps our Food and Catering Team identify how they can offer quality, locally sourced food with a sustainable approach to supply and demand.
We see our Christmas Jumper Swap Shop, old School uniform collections and our newly introduced EcoThreads Pop-Up Shops as opportunities to reuse, reduce and recycle!
The School has set targets to encourage a ‘think before you print’ mentality and reduce consumption of printed materials and print waste. In the 2025 to 2026 period, 666,988 sheets were printed which is now a measurable target to reduce.
Clifton High School's bespoke curriculum incorporates a focus on environmental education. We aim to help shape the next generation of global leaders and citizens, realising the urgency of climate conservation to respond towards a more sustainable future. Our teaching community believe that at the core of any learning experience is curiosity. Their lessons explore and raise awareness for concerns that surround ecosystems, climate change and environmental challenges. Children are encouraged to develop an innate desire to understand the natural world and ignite a passion for the environment.
This empathetic environmental learning within the classroom helps pupils connect with global issues and gain an insight into the vulnerability of communities worldwide. Topics include the effects of deforestation, wildlife conservation, the protection of indigenous populations and the preservation of marine life. On a local level, initiatives are often practical and include tree planting, beach clean-ups, recycling drives and community-based projects, all of which develop connections with a sense of care and commitment to living sustainably.
Incorporating nature into our curriculum learning is interactive, whether it be through on-site outdoor classroom experiences, children having a hands-on involvement in cultivating honey from our beehives or their participation in rewilding and gardening learning.
Clifton High School are proactive in utilising their Co-Curricular Programme to include an extensive adventure schedule that incorporates external trips to Belmont Estate or further afield, which encourages pupils to observe, explore and question their learning. It is a thoughtfully curated avenue that extends an awareness to children as they observe, explore and question their learning.
All sustainability studies, whether they be in or out of the classroom, address real-world environmental challenges as issues are brought to the surface to engage children in the consideration of creative and critical solutions. The research, investigation and analysis required in any one of these activities gives pupils the ability to unite as a community whilst also considering the consequences of their own actions and how they can either collectively or individually make a difference.
This develops a genuine love, rather than an obligation, for nature and a powerful motivator for change. All pupils, from our early years through to the Sixth Form, are encouraged to cherish the environment, consider their carbon footprint and advocate for the protection of the planet.
“The environment and sustainability are so important to Clifton High School and its community. They bring pupils of all ages together to think about and act against issues that affect us all, spreading awareness to the surrounding communities in the process”.
Our pupil-led Eco Committee takes a proactive approach in shaping the School’s priorities and focuses on sustainability. A dedicated Year 13 Prefect leads the committee with the support of Mrs Laura Giles, Head of Geography and Mrs Amy Schmid, Teacher of Geography. Meeting with all Eco Committee members and Mr Will Phelan, Head, at the start of the academic year, the Prefect presents and collaboratively agrees on Clifton High School’s future eco-aims as well as establishing the overarching annual objectives.
Under the Eco Committee’s leadership, all pupils learn to set individual goals that are both achievable and motivating, igniting their passion for environmental protection and advocacy of sustainability in their own lives.
In 2026, they launched a student-led recycled fashion initiative, called EcoThreads, which has proved hugely successful and popular with pupils and staff members. EcoThreads has raised pupils’ awareness of the environmental impact of fast fashion and encouraged the recycling and re-use of pre-loved clothes to reduce textile waste. Community members are invited to donate good-quality, pre-loved clothing and accessories so they are given a second life in a new home. After two busy pop-up events, it is an initiative that we look
forward to growing and moving forward in the future.
As well as the focus on recycling, the Eco-Committee has also focused on reducing food waste, plastic and food miles, sourcing suppliers more local to the School.
The Eco-Committee's series of campaigns aligns with the School’s vision to become a more environmentally friendly and sustainability-conscious School with short to long term goals:
Short Term:
Medium Term:
Long Term:
Continue to encourage pupils on School wide recycling initiatives
Work towards three topics chosen by our whole pupil body. This year, the chosen topics are fast fashion, sustainable food and recycling.
Become a Fairtrade School and achieve our sixth Eco-School Green Flag Award
Throughout the last three academic years, our projects have been opportunities for pupils to learn through participation. These include:
• Hands-up surveys to encourage Active Travel
• New Cycle Shelter - installed as a result of a grant awarded to our Active Travel Ambassadors
• Bright Green Week Initiatives incude serving local produce for lunch, walks
• Dr. Bike Maintenance & Servicing Drop-In Sessions
• Bikeability
• Upgrade to the Schools hot water and heating system to become more efficient and less carbon dependent
• Bee Hives and Honey are managed and monitored by a Bee Keeping Team
In addition to the day-to-day eco-aware behaviours our community embody, we also support sustainable initiatives and have developed our own events to allow us all to focus on building a greener future both in and out of School.
In 2019 we established our inaugural Bright Green Day, an annual whole School day that focuses on eco matters. Special events, challenges and activities take place both in and out of the classroom, embedding a sustainability perspective into the curriculum and School life. Other national and global level events we recognise and support include:
Earth Day
Big Garden Birdwatch
Bristol Northwest Foodbank
Avon Needs Trees
Bristol Education Partnership Climate Challenge
Christmas Jumper Swap Shop
EcoThreads Pop-Up Shops
We have big plans for the next academic year! As we look back at the foundations we have already implemented, we are establishing ambitious goals for the future that build upon our commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic viability. Our plan includes strategic and operational initiatives designed to increase our sustainability awareness, reduce our carbon footprint, enhance resource efficiency all whilst encouraging community engagement.
In 2025 the boiler in the sports complex was changed to a hybrid system that can be managed remotely. This is much more efficient, and we can now manage the temperature of the heating and the swimming pool water much more proactively. This will also be complemented by the upgrade of the new swimming pool filtration system to a UV system which will see a reduction of chemicals and, as a consequence, water consumption. too. It will report on usage every half term.
This program moved to Phase 2 in Summer 2025 when we began an upgrade to the School-wide heating system. These upgrades include introducing a ‘building management system’ that allows us to manage the heating on a building -by-building basis. The program continues to extend over multiple years but will slowly bring rewards in terms of reduced heating bills and a reduction in our carbon footprint. Usage data will be benchmarked to aid future usage reduction.
Individual electricity meters were installed in 2026 enabling us to report on usage for each building. We are analysing the peaks and troughs to see where savings can be made.
We have already made great strides introducing LED lights across the School estate.
Many of our trips, clubs and subject topics are being reviewed to ensure sustainability is woven throughout our pupils' day at Clifton High School. A comprehensive review of what is on offer will be done to make sure sessions capture the hearts and minds of pupils, encouraging
everyone to become knowledgeable and passionate about the natural world.
Our Active Travel Ambassadors continue to encourage active travel and, in 2025, were successful in applying for a grant that they elected to put towards a new bicycle shelter. This is now located in the Junior School playground to encourage our younger pupils to travel actively from the beginning of their time at Clifton High School.
Our bees continue to thrive, and we have a team of beekeepers who are busy looking after them. Bees are essential for maintaining healthy eco-systems and we are looking forward to collecting the honey from the hives to sell at the next Christmas Fair.
Gardening Club has also started, and our Junior School pupils are excitedly planting vegetables in the classrooms. They also have some outdoor raised flower beds in the main communal area, and we look forward to sharing some of their successes with the rest of the School as plants grow.
Our well loved ‘Bright Green Day’ has morphed into Bright Green Week with an exciting itinerary that includes guest speakers, a treasure hunt focusing on interesting facts about the ocean, a recycling project, craft making and the journey of plastics from the land to the ocean. The objectives of the week are very much pupil-led, and it is great to see so much passion in these areas of learning.
By actively participating in local and national networks, we will share our ideas whilst listening and learning from other schools' experiences. Attendance at the Society of Heads Sustainability Network meetings maintains contact with other schools and keeps us up-to-date with the Department of Education's communications. Our named lead for sustainability attends these meetings and cascades findings through staff bulletins and newsletters.
We also link to local networks such as the Future Leap Network. This is a local Bristol organisation who run free workshops across businesses to discuss initiatives and challenges.
Our stakeholder meetings will continue to involve key members of our community, ensuring everyone has a say in actively contributing to our objectives.
We are striving to create a positive impact in all we do that aligns with local and global sustainability standards, generates excitement and curiosity across our pupils and community, and supports sustainable practices across all operations of the School. By encouraging a sense of direction and purpose, we aim to inspire everyone to contribute to a more sustainable future.
Sustainability and environmental awareness are commitments that Clifton High School recognises as a shared responsibility.
We are devoted to sustaining and expanding our efforts to leave a greener School for future generations by improving our estate and introducing new facilities across the campus that meets our environmental, ethical and social responsibilities.
We encourage all members of our community to contribute ideas and support as we continue to raise awareness and educate our pupils.
For further information or to offer your support, please contact Mrs Louise Brennan, Estates and Operations Director, via email: lbrennan@cliftonhigh.co.uk.
