KS3 visit by Loughborough High School

We were visited in June by nearly 80 students from Loughborough High School. They were initially shown around the site, focusing particularly on land use and the generation of electricity from the on-site renewable energy systems. A tour of the house gave the students a chance to see what was different and the same as their homes. The visit finished with a lively debate about a proposed local windfarm at Eakring. The debate follows a real-life situation, when early this year a public meeting was held at Eakring village hall facilitated by BBC Radio Nottingham, as part of their Groundswell series. A project member took on the role of the BBC presenter, whilst students were provided with actual statements that were made by a local MP, the developer, an anti-campaign group and members of the general public. This allowed the students to get into some role-play and get a real sense of the passion involved in such a topic as well as getting an understanding of some of the issues. Gradually the students were able to ad lib and start to argue there own views – some of these were equally passionate as the real-life situation and as articulate.

The following feedback is from one of the teachers and three of the students.

"We were very impressed by the effort and thought that had gone into the day and the highlights were being able to see the application of the technology in an actual home and the debate along with the video clip. The classroom facilities were excellent- very comfortable! Our girls were quite tired by the end of the day so maybe it wouldn't be necessary to go over all the points  for and against (on the flip charts).  Please congratulate Nick Louise and Simon on the teaching .They pitched it perfectly for our girls and were not dictatorial but engaged with them on an equal basis." (Teacher)

“ ..we went to a place near Nottingham called Hockerton Housing Project. Here 5 families live in bungalows designed to make life more eco-friendly. The roofs had solar panels on top of them, they grow their own fruit and vegetables, they have worm farms and composting bins and they even have composter loos! Visiting this place made me think how much we rely on electricity from non-renewable sources. It also made me realise how easy it is to start substituting coal and oil with renewable energy sources. I am now going to try not to use so much energy. “

“My favourite part of the day was the debate at the end. It was all about wind turbines and whether or not they will ruin the landscape. It was taken from a proper debate on the same subject and some of us had opinions that were put towards the argument. This was really good fun as well as having a lot of information and truth to it.”

“At Hockerton I learnt all about how wind turbines work and how much they cost. I also learnt that the people who live there are perfectly normal and live normal lives. I am now realizing what a drastic change we have got to do to save the planet from global warming”.

For more information about secondary school visits , click here.