Severn Wye Energy Agency
Young Energy People
My Story
How it all Started
Stroud High School has been able to make great strides towards becoming more energy efficient and environmentally friendly since its recent involvement with Severn Wye Energy Agency. Little more than six months ago a presentation was given in assembly notifying all students of the project. From listening to the assembly I felt this was an opportunity I could not miss. Having an outside of school company offer to train students to create what is now a very professional report and to gain an abundance of skills along the way was brilliant. All those students who wanted to be involved in the project were then interviewed, which again was a excellent thing to practice and to have written feedback arrive in the post was a great way to get accustomed to the adult world of applying for posts.
Making Progress
Six months later, following trips to Shire Hall and Tewkesbury School, a meeting with the school governors, several days off timetable and a completed report, we are looking towards a much greener future and I can genuinely say this is down to SWEA's phenomenal support. During our days off timetable we investigated classroom temperatures, lighting, electrical equipment etc. All involved students, including myself, then continued to monitor one individual aspect. Once we had managed to gather all the required raw data, we worked hard to produce graphs, tables and recommendations outlining the school's strengths and weaknesses, eventually allowing us to compile our top five targets. During the above processes we were shown how to take boiler readings, recognise specific types of light bulbs, have a more astute awareness of what is good practice and how the school as a whole can improve. Prior to this project we were only paying estimated bills - meter readings were not even taken! However, the meter readings are now being taken regularly allowing abnormalities to be easily identified.
Future Directions
In the near future with SWEA's continued support, we hope to implement our policies. For example, training students and staff alike to be aware of the environmental consequences of their actions and to turn off lights, computers, projectors and other electrical equipment when not in use. As a student and project manager I feel enormously proud to be part of this incredible project which will make a real difference to both the school's economics and environmental impact.