Case Study 7 - Cassop Primary School, County Durham.

Cassop set out to show that by making learning real, exciting and purposeful that solutions to global issues could be identified in the way that the school developed its buildings, grounds and provision.

Cassop School serves two former mining villages. By bringing together the need for the community to have a forward looking focus and the school’s commitment to work in the environment their introduction of a Sustainable Development focus enabled a specialism to become a social asset to the community.

Developing an environmental and sustainability focus in the school took time and stamina. Being a small school encouraged the school from the outset to develop a vision of working beyond the school boundaries with other schools, industries and organisations.

All development has been funded through grants, partnerships and awards. Early recognition and some “prize money” from awards encouraged their efforts. In 1998 they were invited by Durham County Council and Northern Electricity to install a 50Kw wind turbine and develop its educational potential. Being the first wind powered school in the UK generated lots of interest and opportunities as well as many requests for visits.

Supported by grants, the school set up Cassop Environmental Extra, to offer practical environmental learning opportunities to other schools in the region.

The school is now powered by a 50kw turbine, heated with locally produced recycled wood waste and solar PV panels on one roof. The school has a classroom for use by visiting schools and other organisations and delivers a curriculum which focuses on the concept of sustainable development. There is also a school/community recycling centre on site with a scaled down separation conveyor belt system to separate glass, paper and metal.

The project has brought considerable advantages to the school. The children have been engaged in some very difficult concepts in interesting and practical ways. Global issues have been approached positively. The focus has widened the horizons of children in the school and enabled them to gain confidence in presentation, literacy, persuasive writing and oracy skills as well as linking the school globally with 5 European and a Kenyan school. At the same time the school and the community have gained a sense of purpose and pride.