Think Global, Act Local

Year 8 embarked on an ambitious social action and sustainability project in partnership with a Rwandan school.

A highlight of the two-day programme was meeting girls and boys from Kigali’s Umubano Academy, a school founded by A Partner in Education in post-conflict Rwanda to help promote sustainable peace and educational excellence.  Via Zoom, they spent a number of live sessions talking about their typical day before discussing product life cycles and sustainable solutions together.

Consolidating their learning on UN sustainable Development Goals, pupils then explored issues around waste and consumption, before designing upcycled products to raise money for pupils to be educated at Umubano Academy. Each form split into creative and production, tech and media, and sales and marketing teams, who received specialist training before producing items made from old plastic bags, bottle tops, tetrapaks, crisp packets and magazines.

After developing a marketing strategy and building a website, they went on to sell their products, which included purses, coasters and jewellery, at fairs (in ‘bubbles’) in school as well as online to parents. In total, the teams succeeded in raising over £1,000, which will fund the education for two pupils at the Umubano Academy.

The new Think Global, Act Local project was spearheaded by our School Consultant Teacher for Social Action, Ms Aneja, and School Consultant Teacher for Sustainability, Ms Wrigglesworth, who plan to deliver this programme each year.