It was an occasion fit for a princess…
A sumptuous reception at the ambassador’s London residency…
A chance to rub shoulders with foreign dignitaries, statesmen and royalty…
And the stars of the show? Four bright sparks from St Mary’s Catholic High School, Astley.
Last week the quartet; James Glackin and Alexandra Nolan, both 15 and James Berry and Philip Ainscough, 14, were the official guests of honour at the Danish Embassy in London, where they were honoured for their hard work on an international project aimed at saving the planet.
The young team had entered the Eco Schools organisation’s Bright Green Youth competition, which asked teens from all over the UK to come up with innovative ideas to tackle some of the major environmental issues we all face.
The team researched and produced a special DVD as part of the project, which looked at how they would tackle problems of global warming and climate change from a local perspective.
And when the hundreds of entries were in and the judges had sifted through them, St Mary’s very own fantastic four were hailed amongst the winners.
St Mary’s Geography Teacher Andrew McGeown, who mentored the team throughout the project says: “The four pupils worked extremely hard on this project. I think the future of the planet is something they all feel passionately about and it shows in the results. We were absolutely delighted when we found out that they had won.”
The team and Mr McGeown were invited down to Danish Embassy by ambassador Mr Birger Riis-Jørgensen to receive their award.
They were presented with the accolade by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
But it doesn’t end there for the young eco-warriors because they will now be heading for Denmark in August for the UN Conference on Climate Change.
The St Mary’s team is just one of two winners from the UK who will be attending the conference where they will attend various workshops and present their findings during the closing ceremony.
St Mary’s head David Burnett says the whole school is extremely proud of the team’s achievements.
“The pupils approached this task with great enthusiasm and imagination and we are all thrilled with their success,” says Mr Burnett. “It is really encouraging to see our young people approaching this often complex issue with determination and maturity. They are not only great ambassadors for our school but for our borough and for young people.”
