Thomas Buxton Primary School Autumn update

Our journey

At Thomas Buxton, we strive to look after ourselves and our environment. Eco Ambassadors are voted for every year by students and they meet fortnightly to discuss eco-related issues.In 2021 the school achieved the 'Silver' Eco-Schools Award. The Eco Ambassadors are currently working towards the ‘Green Flag' Eco-Schools Award.

Plastic Clever

As part of our activism theme for 2020-21 we took part in the Meek Sister’s challenge to become a plastic clever school. Children wrote letters, created posters and took part in a competition to encourage the community to use less single-use plastic. Below are the KS1 and KS2 winners of our tote bag design competition.

Global learning

The teachers at Thomas Buxton ensure that all lessons are taught with a global element. The school has recently introduced the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals we are focusing in on this year are:This autumn children have been learning more about responsible consumption and production. In English, they explored the text ‘King Leonard’s Teddy’ by Phoebe Swan. We also held a Sustainable Fashion week where children learnt about some of the problems with the fashion industry and what we can do to consume more sustainably. They also developed their knowledge, skills and understanding of textile design and technology which resulted in a fashion show at the end of the week. Last year, as well as learning about environmental activists such as Isatou Ceessay, Wangari Maathai, Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough, children took part in an Activism Buzz Day. They learnt all about how climate change is causing flooding in Bangladesh and what we can all do to reduce the impact of climate change. They developed their oracy skills through chants, poems and speeches and the day culminated in a march.

Switch-Off Fortnight

Every year the school raises awareness about the importance of conserving energy by taking part in the 'Switch-Off Fortnight' event every November. This year Eco Ambassadors and the Eco Club made signs, posters and wrote letters to persuade the school community to switch off lights, interactive boards and computers when they aren’t being used.

School travel plan

The Eco Ambassadors have campaigned for more sustainable ways of travelling to and from school. A BMX workshop was held at the school to raise the profile of using bicycles and scooters instead of cars to get to and from school. The school also took part in ‘Walk, Ride or Roll’ to school day to encourage more people to travel sustainably.

Green Team

A group of children are in charge of recycling weekly. We make sure we recycle all the paper and cardboard and much more, such as litter collection and watering our plants.

Climate march

During the summer of 2018, the whole-school marched around the local area to highlight the issue of climate change. The Eco-Ambassadors led speeches to discuss the impact of climate change on our local community.

RichMix environment video

The Eco-Ambassadors worked with Rich Mix, in partnership with THAMES, on the creation of a Green Tower Hamlets movie. 13 LBTH Schools (12 primary and 1 sixth form) were involved.