The girls have written to the CEOs of a number of companies demanding answers and are also returning boxes of unwanted packaging to others.
They’ve already received several replies from organisations including Coca Cola, McVitie’s, Sainsbury’s, M&S and Ferrero.
The school’s Prep 5 class have are also been collecting empty crisp packets which they have been regularly taking to a recycling point at the ReFill Store in Truro.
Walkers are sponsoring the scheme and recycling company TerraCycle will process the bags, separating them by plastic type and cleaning them before extruding them into plastic pellets ready to make into new products. The class has currently returned over 1000 packets.
The project is part of Truro High School’s Learn Challenge Curriculum which sees girls as young as 4 years old encouraged to question the status quo and have a voice in the campaign for change.
Teacher Yvette Simpson explained: “This approach to learning is built around the principle of the girls having greater learner involvement in their work. It requires deep thinking, encourages the class to work using a question as the starting point and for their interests to guide the research. Prep 5 have certainly relished this opportunity and driven the recycling project out of the confines of the classroom into the school and community as a whole.”
Even the school’s youngest pupils are getting involved with a reading of Jack and the Beanstalk leading to an investigation into the different kinds of beans and a discussion, not only about their taste, but about the implication of air miles and organic foods. There’s practical work too with initiatives ranging from beach cleans to creating a Japanese-inspired garden to improve the Pre-Prep Department’s own learning environment.
Truro High School is the number one Small Independent School in England for A Level results with 59% of all passes A*/A.
