STAFF and students at Settle College turned up for school in the middle of winter in shorts and T- shirts to raise awareness of climate change, its impact on the planet, and what the school community could do to help make a difference.

Organiser, Rosie Pettifer, a sixth form student at the college, said she had been overwhelmed by the support from staff and her fellow students and believed however small the school was, it could make a difference.

“I organised this to create a powerful visual display, highlighting the unseasonably high temperatures we have been experiencing this winter, and to inform my fellow students of the role we, as a community, play in contributing towards this.”

She added: “The school’s main purpose is to educate students and prepare them for the future, for jobs that do not exist yet, and environments we have not yet experienced.

“It was vitally important that as a school, we made a collective effort to educate our community, not just about the impacts of global warming, but also of the small changes we can all make to reduce waste and planet damage.”

Rosie, along with the school’s eco-club, set up an information stall at break and at lunchtime to show some of the sustainable products on offer.

“They included the famous 'Bamboo coffee cup' to lesser known alternatives such as, bamboo make-up removal pads, bamboo dental floss and solid shampoo and Alum stones,” she said.

“Many students and teachers were unaware of these alternatives emphasising the importance of education in the face of the climate crisis.

“As part of the event, during the lunchtime break the school’s craft club made beeswax food wraps, showing students sustainable alternative to sandwich bags and cling film.”

Rosie said: “The magnitude of support received from students and staff was both phenomenal and humbling.

“We may be a small school but, you are never too small to make a difference.”