Children are creating eco-friendly Christmas decorations at Upton Junior School in Broadstairs.
Pupils, who learn about sustainability and the environment in all year groups, have given up the glitz and tossed away the tinsel in support of naturalist Sir David Attenborough’s call for a greener no plastic-based glitter at Christmas.
Instead, the Year 6 pupils used real evergreen foliage, pine cones, bells and bows and created beautiful wreaths to decorate the outside of the school.
They used wire to tie branches together to create some beautiful frameworks, then then added colourful accessories to make them look even more festive.
Head of Year 6 Athanasia Papa-Adams said: “It was trickier than it looked but with a little bit of teamwork and some festive cheer they turned out amazingly.
“We decided as a year group to use no glitter or plastic this year as our next topic will be a focus on the ‘The World Around Us’.
“Global warming, pollution, plastic and deforestation come up regularly in our discussions so we wanted to do something in support of the sustainability. “
Each class also created some beautiful winter art – the theme for 6Y was winter birds, 6G and 6B focussed on differing winter trees and 6R designed a winter setting.
For their creative homework the children designed and made their own Christmas decorations and art work, drawing, sketching and describing their creations, which resulted in a selection of imaginative and diverse works.
Head of School Darci Arthur said that sustainability and eco-awareness is an important part of learning for all Upton children. She said: “The focus is very much on protecting our environment and our future, and the many ways we as a community can work to achieve this.
“The topic runs through much of our learning through and literacy to our public debating competitions – it is something our children are passionate about.”