From their proactive eco-committee, to a fairtrade cafe and a link to a school in Kenya, pupils and staff at The Batt have been working hard to take their place as global citizens, achieving a Bronze Award status in Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours scheme.

The accreditation scheme celebrates schools that are helping pupils learn about global poverty and the Christian responsibility to tackle it, as well as giving them the tools to play a confident part in creating a fairer world.

Sarah Adair, Global Neighbours Lead at The Batt School, said:

'We are thrilled to be recognised for the work we have done as a whole school community to raise awareness of the extreme inequalities across our globe and perhaps more importantly, the steps we can take to address these. The pupils learn about global issues regularly and gain an understanding of injustice in our world. Our Christian Ethos Committee has worked hard to plan for and monitor our development as a school which empowers pupils to be global citizens and courageous advocates.

We have taken part in Christian Aid’s Letters for Creation which has helped fuel our concern for climate justice and pupils have written to their MP in the lead up to COP26 to share these concerns. Pupils have been learning about examples of people who faced adversity and overcame this to be courageous advocates for change. These stories have challenged the whole school community to think about how each of us can make a difference in our local community and globally. We took part in Christian Aid’s scheme because it gives us a practical way of living out our school values of respect, friendship and perseverance.'

Katy Harding Jones, Head of School, said:

'The children have thoroughly enjoyed the project so far. Our world is increasingly connected and our hope is for our children to grow as responsible global citizens who care about issues such as the environment and access to healthcare.'

Alison Brown, Global Neighbours Schools Programme Officer at Christian Aid, said:

'The Global Neighbours Scheme was launched in partnership with the Church of England’s Education Office with a vision of helping young people understand more about the inequalities in this world and helping them to become courageous advocates for those who have no voice.
It’s wonderful to see how staff and pupils at The Batt School have taken this to heart and are seeking to tackle injustice.'