Now in its 9th year, The Green School Awards is an initiative created by Social Enterprise Kent (SEK) to celebrate sustainability and innovation within schools in Kent. From reducing carbon footprints to promoting biodiversity, every effort counts in building a more sustainable world for the future. With an average of 25 schools directly benefiting from the awards; this is a total of 427,500 students over those 9 years!
The GSA’s have grown significantly over the last 9 years and brilliantly showcase the increased awareness and care of children across the county who are wanting to make a difference and look after our planet. With the awards’ popularity increasing this has also meant development within the categories and expansion of areas to be considered.
One example is ‘Show and Share’, which was created two years ago and has been part of the awards ever since. This involves students exhibiting their innovative environmental projects to their peers and teachers. A great way to foster collaboration and shared learning between schools.
The awards themselves saw a new category addition called ‘Trail Blazers’, which highlights schools that are setting benchmarks for environmental excellence. These exemplary schools are demonstrating what is possible when dedication and innovation meet, leading the way in environmental practices and efficiencies.
What started as awards bringing schools together has gone further over the years with many initiatives showcased (and winning) becoming community-wide projects. For example, one of the Eco Refill Shops was initially a project for a school, but it now benefits the whole community by promoting sustainable practices, encouraging behaviours for reducing waste and re-using rather than buying.
The launch event took place in June where the judges and sponsors got to experience the fantastic Roots & Shoots Eco Group, run by Goat Lee’s Primary School (former winners of the GSA’s). The children in this group champion all environmental things from campaigns, workshops, caring for their outdoor areas and helping to reduce their carbon footprint.
The awards then opened and schools across Kent submitted their entries of their eco-initiatives to be considered. SEK had a fantastic 74 nomination for this year’s event and 28 schools were put through to the judging which took place in October. Our Senior Carbon Consultant, Helen Cartledge, was very honoured to be part of the judging panel with our co-sponsors TotalEnergies along with other sponsors and guests.
It was great to be involved and on a panel of judges from varying industry sectors – some of which have supported the Green School Awards for multiple years. There was such energy and excitement in the room whilst we reviewed and discussed the submissions – it was a tough job to narrow down it to the finalists as there were so many fantastic entries! The hosts, CountryStyle Recycling were also brilliant, and took time out in their busy day to show us around the site once we’d performed our judging duties!
Helen Cartledge, Senior Carbon Consultant
The award ceremony took place on Friday 29th November at Ashford International Hotel & Spa and we had two representatives from LASER attend, Helen, our Judge and Kathleen Reid, our Energy Procurement Manager and Social Value Lead. The event began with the ‘Show and Share’ area where a room filled with excited children spoke and presented their environmental ideas, projects and plans to award attendees. It was a fantastic opportunity to hear firsthand from the children about their projects, and they were so passionate and inspiring.
“The highlight of the day for me was the “show and share” display where a number of schools brought along details of their projects and explained what they had put in place through the year, how their projects worked and what the results were. The enthusiasm of the school children brought the room to life and I felt lucky to have been able to listen to the details of their efforts and rewards.”
Kathleen Reid, Energy Procurement Manager, LASER
The ceremony ran with ease as we saw every level of project and involvement get well deserved recognition.
The Winners were…
A truly inspiring and educational event to be part of and we were honoured to be involved and support. The Green School Awards are so powerful in nurturing a generation of environmentally conscious leaders and driving change within schools and radiating impact throughout communities that we cannot wait to see further years to come.
Entries for The Green School Awards 2025 are OPEN!!
That’s right, if your school is committed to taking care of our environment then SEK want to hear from you.
You could be planting more trees, setting up recycling stations, or developing campaigns promoting community awareness – now is the time to enter.
Let’s celebrate the fantastic initiative by Social Enterprise Kent (SEK) – The Green School Awards. Join us on the journey from launch event, to judging and the award night itself.
If your school is looking at upgrading it’s lighting or heating systems to be more energy efficient and sustainable then you might want to find out what funding options are available. In our blog we look at what’s on offer to help you bring these projects to life.
The seasons are changing and it’s time to re-think how you’re using energy in your school. The heating will be on more, your pupils need to stay warm and focused but you also don’t want to be experiencing large bills. Join us for our Winter Wise energy saving tips for schools.