Update 1
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Launch Session:
We kicked off this year’s sustainability project with a successful launch session, bringing together both new and returning students. It was great to see returning members continuing the progress made last year and welcoming new participants to the group.
Kaitlin Richardson (Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick) returned for the second year as a mentor, alongside Emily Fitzwater (Sellafield), who has joined us this year.
The session focused on introductions, getting to know one another, and updating new members on the previous year’s work. We also looked at the project brief and began discussing ideas and goals for the year ahead, with lots of enthusiasm from the group.
Overall, it was a positive start, setting the tone for another impactful year.
Update 2
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In our second session, we focused on shaping our direction for the year ahead. As a group, we decided to build on the work from the past four years, aiming to refine, improve, and ensure our projects are more sustainable long-term. Our key focus areas were identified as wellbeing, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
We also assigned roles and split into smaller groups to begin research tasks:
Caleb & Layla explored sustainable play equipment for Year 7 transition, looking at reviews and sustainability, and created a survey for the Year 7 yard.
Bella researched ideas for new wellbeing badges and explored how they could be produced, including using 3D printing. As a member of the 3D printing club, Levi was then tasked with finding out what equipment we'd need and how much it would cost.
Zac investigated the cost of sustainable water bottles to help reduce single-use plastics.
This session was productive and set a clear, focused direction for our work moving forward.
Update 3
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This week, students carried out their baseline surveys before heading to the Year 7 yard to gather feedback directly from younger students. Using tally charts they had created, they recorded which equipment was used most and least, identified items that were poor quality or didn’t last, and collected suggestions for improvements.
The results showed that basketball nets were the most popular equipment. The group also identified an opportunity to improve wellbeing and literacy by introducing a reading corner, providing Year 7 students with a quiet space to read and relax.
This session gave us valuable insights to help guide our next steps and ensure our ideas reflect what students really want and need.
Update 4
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This session, we were joined by Michelle from the Centre for Leadership. During the session, we discussed our project ideas, our goals, and how we plan to achieve them. We also shared how tasks have been allocated across the group.
Michelle asked thoughtful questions, encouraging us to reflect on our plans and think more deeply about our approach. It was a valuable session that helped strengthen our ideas and confidence moving forward.
Update 5
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This session focused on further research and development. The team split into groups to continue their work, including researching equipment prices, designing wellbeing badges, and gathering additional quotes for sustainable water bottles.
We also took a team photo and began planning our pitch presentation, thinking about how best to share our ideas and proposals.
Overall, it was a productive session that helped move our projects forward and start preparing for the next stage.
Update 6
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In this session, we focused on developing our pitch presentation. As a group, we worked through each slide, deciding on the theme, key information, and visuals needed.
We then divided the slides among team members to complete and agreed on who would present each section and respond to questions during the pitch.
This session helped us organise our ideas and ensured everyone understood their role going into the presentation.
Update 7
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In this session, we presented our pitch to a panel of Sellafield employees. We confidently shared our ideas and plans, linking them to the Millennium Development Goals and our school values.
We explained how we have worked together as a team, highlighting how we identified and used each other’s strengths to allocate roles and responsibilities effectively. We also emphasised our focus on building on past projects to create a lasting, positive impact on our school.
We answered questions from the panel and received brilliant feedback. They were impressed with our well-delivered and confident presentation, clear speaking voices, strong slides and graphics, and the energy and passion shown throughout. They also praised our pragmatic approach to building on previous work, our focus on helping others, and how well-evidenced our ideas were, including the use of statistics from the National Literacy Trust and both qualitative and quantitative survey data.
Update 8
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Update 9
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Update 10
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Update 11
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Update 12
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Update 13
Tell us what you have been doing this week
For students to answer: In one sentence please tell us what Leading Change has meant to you?
For teachers to answer: Can you tell us the impact this programme has had on your school?
Thank you for taking part in Leading Change!
