Lourdes Secondary in Cardonald has received a certificate from the Fairtrade Foundation confirming their status as a Fairtrade School.Said Deputy Principal Vincent Raeburn said, ‘I believe we may be the only secondary school – or even the only school – in Glasgow to achieve this.’

To celebrate, the pupils held a Fair Trade Fair in the school at the end of last term, selling footballs and trainers, chocolate, tea and coffee and arts and craft items. There was also a raffle for a Fairtrade hamper. The lunchtime event raised £150 in 45 minutes.

Former pupils Tommy Sheridan and Ian Menzies of the charity SCIAF were among the guests invited along with Westminster MP Ian Davidson, members of Glasgow’s successful Fairtrade Steering Group, Councillor Margaret Sinclair, Ken Harris of Glasgow City Council and Hugh Donnelly of the Scottish Cooperative.

Last October Lourdes Secondary formally established its first ever ECO Committee after registering with the Eco Schools organisation which aims to encourage whole school action for the environment and to promote environmental awareness.

VOTED FOR APPROVAL
The committee includes pupil volunteers from S1-S5, parents, and teaching and non-teaching staff. The committee voted on an Eco Code and presented this to the school for approval. It is on display on the school’s Eco noticeboard.

Of the seven specified environmental areas, the committee agreed that litter and waste management (especially recycling) were priority areas. An action plan was drawn up after an environmental review was carried out. This included a litter survey and an audit. In terms of waste management, the school has a paper recycling scheme involving over thirty staff. It plans to expand this next session. In addition, Lourdes Secondary has registered with ‘Recycool’, an organisation which uplifts used printer cartridges and old mobile phones for recycling. In return, the school receives a payment to help boost school funds.

These efforts have now been officially recognised by the Eco Schools Organisation.
Vincent Raeburn, Chairperson of Lourdes Secondary Eco Committee and Faculty Head, Citizenship is delighted with progress. ‘We got a Silver award for our Eco Schools initiatives and our next target is their Green Flag award.’