Sustainability Across Our Trust 2025-26
A Year of Action, Impact and Progress
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Young people lead the way Energy Sparks Success In September 2025, Richard Fletcher launched the Energy Champions Competition to encourage every setting to take practical action to reduce energy consumption. Schools and colleges competed for £2,000 to invest back into their own climate action plans. Our students, pupils, estates teams and staff took on the challenge and logged lots of action on Energy Sparks. We are delighted to announce our winners for each phase! Many congratulations to Colleges - New College Doncaster Secondaries - Wingfield Academy Primaries - Redscope Primary School
Highlights from across the Trust Students led the way in taking action including: Switch-off campaigns Energy monitoring Travel surveys Eco-school projects Tree planting schemes Active travel campaigns Biodiversity and community garden projects The year demonstrated the power of student leadership in driving meaningful environmental change.
Building a sustainable future together Our vision During 2025-26, sustainability became a Trust-wide priority. Students, staff, estate and site teams came together with our leaders to reduce carbon emissions by reducing energy use and improving efficiency whilst also preparing for a present and future where the climate is already changing. We aim to enhance knowledge and awareness of sustainability, biodiversity and climate change, building skills and having a positive impact through our curriculum and actions.
What we achieved together Trust-wide impact: Sustainability leads established in every school and college. Student sustainability groups active across all phases. Approximately £140,000 of energy savings achieved through reduced usage and estate efficiency improvements Around £150,000 of Great British Energy funding secured to support solar energy projects. Across our school and colleges Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 20%. This saving is equivalent to the carbon emissions from driving approximately 1,250 miles in an average petrol car.
Outstanding practice Our pupils, students, Estate Team, Sustainability Leads, staff and leaders have taken on the climate change and sustainability challenge this year, leading to outstanding practice.
Colleges In the colleges, students have taken action through enrichment and student council groups. All have used Energy Sparks to identify priority areas and have monitored energy use. At New College Pontefract and New College Bradford, students completed energy audits throughout the year, monitoring classrooms for unnecessary energy use. At New College Doncaster, the Sustainability Action Group met fortnightly with the College Principal to interrogate the Energy Sparks data and to take action including creating a policy for switching off IT equipment and running a campaign to keep windows closed whilst the heating is on. New College Pontefract have also focused on biodiversity and over this year have planted 200 trees donated by the Woodland Trust as part of rewilding work.
Secondaries Our secondary schools had different start points for the first year of the Trust Sustainability Strategy. For Dinnington High School and Brinsworth Academy, initiating student action on sustainability has been the focus for the year, setting up Enrichment groups working on Energy Sparks actions and at Dinnington, students worked on sustainable travel options for travelling to school. At Wingfield Academy, The Future World Club have undertaken a wealth of actions including planting over 100 trees, leading on Active Travel Ambassador projects and seeking ways to reduce energy use across school including interviewing site staff to learn about energy use.
Outstanding practice Primaries In the primaries, the children have led the sustainability action and all three student groups collaborated to organise the first Switch Off Day in July 2026 and they also ran competitions across the schools to reward energy reduction in classrooms. As well as reducing energy use, the primaries involved pupils in biodiversity and rewilding. Redscope Primary School has transformed their outdoor space to radically enhance biodiversity and provide Forest School experiences for its pupils. The planting of the Sycamore Gap sapling at Anston Greenlands Primary School highlights the importance of the outdoor environment at the school and at Thorpe Hesley Primary School, £81,000 was awarded by the Community Fund to redevelop the courtyard to create a community space with outdoor learning, connection to nature and biodiversity at its heart. All our primaries now have solar photovolatic panels and also Rewilding Schools Gold Awards.
Estates Team Site teams worked to support their school or college to reduce gas and electricity consumption by adjusting timers and controls on heating & electrical systems. British Energy Solar Partnership grant funding funded solar installations at Redscope and Thorpe Hesley Primaries. Ten additional Electric Vehicle charging points were installed as part of the New College Doncaster car park extension project, 75% of these costs came from the government EV funding initiative. Anston Greenlands also received 75% grant funding for two EV charging points with the balance being funded from unspent DFC. The Building Management System at Dinnington has been extended to cover all outer buildings and this gives the site team greater control of the heating in those buildings.
Small actions. Big impact. One sustainable future.
Investing in sustainable estates Renewable energy developments The Trust secured external funding to improve our estate infrastructure and reduce our carbon emissions over the long term. Solar power installation With thanks to Great British Energy, we secured about £150,000 funding for new solar photovoltaic systems which were successfully installed at Redscope Primary School and Thorpe Hesley Primary school. These installations now: Generate renewable electricity on-site Reduce energy costs Lower carbon emissions Create valuable learning opportunities for children and young people Provide an income through energy sales to the National Grid
Electric vehicle charging Additional EV charging infrastructure was introduced across the Trust, including facilities at Anston Greenlands Primary School and New College Doncaster, supporting cleaner and more sustainable travel options for staff and visitors.
Encouraging biodiversity Sustainability extends beyond climate change and energy reduction. The United Kingdom faces a nature crisis on a huge scale with one in six species now facing extinction. Our role in supporting biodiversity and rewilding aspects of our estate is a crucial part of our sustainability plan. Throughout the year, schools/colleges delivered projects focused on: Tree planting Outdoor learning Biodiversity enhancement
Community gardening Rewilding opportunities Eco Schools accreditation work
What is more, Alex Wirth, Head Teacher at Anston Greenlands Primary School has established and leads a Rewilding Schools networks with a reach that goes far beyond our own schools and colleges. Anston Greenlands also had the honour of being awarded one of the Sycamore Gap saplings to plant in the biodiversity-rich grounds, with the whole school, wider community and local dignitaries assembled.
Carbon Literacy training We invested in the skills and knowledge of our Trust Sustainability Leads who took part in Carbon Literacy training on 2nd July 2026. The training was led by Lee Jowett, Sustainability and Climate Change Fellow at Sheffield Hallam's Institute for Education and included insightful input from Rob Cattrall, our partner at Let's Go Zero. Seventeen people across the Trust now have the Carbon Literacy Accreditation and are able to roll out this training and lessons learnt during the day across our schools, colleges and head office.
Phil Kitchener from Redscope Primary School won the ‘Unsung Hero’ awards at the Education Estates Awards. We also had the following staff shortlisted in other categories. You can find out more at: educationestates.com/peoples-awards-categories
Phil Kitchener
Alison Stenton and Rebecca Travis
Les Reed and Amanda Cook
Looking ahead: sustainability in 2026-27 Our priorities Building on this year's success, sustainability will remain a key Trust priority throughout 2026-27. 1. New Energy Sparks competition This year, our schools, colleges and Head Office will be able to work towards an Energy Sparks Award by taking action on energy reduction and by meeting a site-specific target. Each will have the opportunity to achieve a Gold Award with a £500 prize to fund sustainability initiatives 2. Reducing carbon emissions and adapting to our changing environment Using Energy Sparks, schools, colleges and Head Office will identify priority actions to make the greatest carbon saving impact whilst working to adapt our buildings and practices to reduce the impact of extreme weather. 3. Biodiversity and rewilding This year we are enhancing our focus on creating habitats, garden spaces and rewilding across our estate. All our schools and colleges will have access to the National Education Park mapping app as well as aiming to gain Rewilding Schools Awards across our grounds. Pupils and students will have the opportunity to get involved in taking action to increase biodiversity. 4. Sustainability leadership Student sustainability groups and staff sustainability leads will continue to drive local initiatives, supported by wider Trust collaboration. 5. Skills for a sustainable future With a focus on incorporating sustainability into our curriculum and on enhancing our careers offer, our pupils and students will be better equipped to take an active role in shaping a more sustainable future.
Everyday actions matters Simple actions made a significant difference:
✅ Shutting down computers correctly ✅ Turning off lights ✅ Switching off interactive boards and projectors ✅ Reducing unnecessary heating and cooling ✅ Choosing sustainable travel options ✅ Closing doors to retain heat Every small action contributed to reducing both carbon emissions and costs.
Redscope Sustainability team