Ben Harding EPQ - are British secondary schools really environmentally sustainable?

 5000 word essay introduction Introduction of the topic and reasoning behind the project. Methodology/literature review - types of research and effectiveness Section 1 Why are schools unsustainable? - bring in our school as a case study and reference to outdated guidelines provided by the government. Section 2 what things can be done to manage this? are they big or little things? - link to Tupton and other case study schools big- a change in funding, national infrastructure programmes architectural design little things - lighting, education,  Section 3 what are threats of becoming more sustainable (increasing cost of living and energy- threats on the school)  ownership Conclusion overall- how sustainable are schools? Below are some extra links that provide small details for my dissertation ... What is net zero and how are the UK and other countries doing? - BBC News This source provides us with the key statistics for net zero targets set in the United Kingdom by the UK go...

 As of December 2022, I have been focusing on planning my dissertation and focusing on outlining interim conclusions that I will be able to use as another planning tool.  I have also started to write my dissertation, starting with the main chunk, with a focus on what I have found out through the course of my project, however I am planning to cut down the weekly time allocated for EPQ while I complete mock A level exams in January, as I feel like it is essential to focus on my A levels at this time, while still considering my project in progress.

 As I have come reached beginning of year 13, I am going to start to plan and write my final dissertation as I Have reached a point where other subjects have become more important, however my EPQ is currently at a point where I have collected all my research and am starting to move onto the final stages of my project, so I am going to finalise my project and bring it to a close. As I start to think back to the beginning of my project, it is clear to see where schools are lacking sustainability and environmentally friendly strategies. After studying many resources and case studies of schools and carrying out some primary fieldwork consisting of an interview with our school business manager, I have come to a conclusion, with a large backing of evidence, that many secondary schools in the UK are unsustainable. There are however anomalies as there are examples of secondary schools that are sustainable which gives me a range of examples that I can bring into my research. to carry out my...

The cost-of-living and energy crisis as a developing issue has created the ability for me to consider this as a potential factor that prevents schools from becoming sustainable. Here are some of the considerations that have to be taken into account regarding the cost-of-living crisis. The UK energy crisis is a major issue at current times that is affecting everyone up and down the country. Schools have seen a struggle to cope with the cost of energy especially with energy already being up to and over £100,000, with the cost expected to rise further. Below are the direct words written by the business manager of our school over email... " It is a concern.  From a practical aspect staff are being asked to be far more conscientious and vigilant regarding lights, projectors being left on, windows being left open etc. We have asked staff to be more accountable for their printing, and for less documentation being printed for meetings. Our governors for example have agreed to no longer re...

LED lighting in schools  LED lighting in schools is a key way to reduce energy. Articles below provide an insight into the efficiency and rollout of LED lighting into schools. Benefits of LED Lighting in Schools - UK Energy Lighting   date accessed-21/06/22. Benefits of LED lighting... LED lighting does not only benefit learning, but also benefits cost as due to reduced replacement costs, LED lighting is cheaper to run as bulbs are not needed to be replaced as often as well as running costs being up to 64%lower for secondary schools. LED lighting is predicted to replace all artificial light by 2030 due to its benefits that surround it. https://www.wila.co.uk/projects/education/swindon-schools-lighting-update  date accessed- 21/06/22 This case study example links clearly in with the LED lighting in school's boost. Published by the lighting suppliers, Wila, it outliners details surrounding its large-scale upgrade of more than 6000 lumens around 7 Swindon schools. The articl...

Government guidance article reviews. Below are some of the resources and documents that have been published by the UK government to help schools to promote and to become sustainable. Top tips for sustainability in schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)     Date accessed 12/10/21 page 8 summary. This government source gives a detailed and accurate representation of the sustainability in schools. It gives a simple layout with a clear contents table of the key points of how to be sustainable. It gives clear pointers of how to reduce water, energy and waste along with others. It however is a little old as it is 11 years old. This may mean that the guidance has changed, even though nothing has been published by the government, and is not precise, it is still able to give some valid pointers to look out for and some methods of improvement.  Summary of the pointers given in the document. -Use building systems properly -Upgrade heating controls  -Upgrade lighting  -Manage c...