School Children Get It – It’s Not Rocket Science!

Brighton Energy Co-op’s Free Renewable Energy Workshops Are Lighting Up Classrooms

Since our Empower Energy Education: BEC’s Work in Local Schools blog last July, we’ve delivered 53 more free Renewable Energy and Carbon Footprint workshops in local schools – reaching hundreds of young minds across Brighton and beyond.

And the message is clear: school children get it. They understand that using the sun and wind to turn a turbine is far more sensible than burning fossil fuels or splitting atoms just to make steam. It’s not rocket science – and when they see it for themselves in our workshops, their faces literally light up.

Meanwhile, oil giant Equinor – the company behind the controversial Rosebank oil field – has funded a computer game aimed at UK school children promoting the idea that fossil fuels are part of a “green” energy future. Read more about it here.

 Matthew Holmes Teaching Year 5s at Denton Primary, Newhaven

It’s a reminder of why we do this work. Armed with just our modest Community Fund budget, we’re committed to giving students the tools to understand how energy works – and to question the misinformation often used to greenwash fossil fuels and even nuclear energy.

Our workshops are simple but powerful. We explain how all electricity – whether from coal, oil, gas, or nuclear – is made by heating water to make steam to spin a turbine. Renewables do the same job, but without the carbon footprint or the radioactive waste.

We’re proud to be part-funding Brighton & Hove City Council’s eco-education programme, Our City, Our World, for the next academic year – helping speed up the spread of this essential knowledge. But we need your help. Please tell local teachers about our free Renewable Energy & Carbon Footprint Education Programme!

Hove Park Upper Year 9s Experimenting with Solar Panels

Recent Highlights:

We kicked off this round of workshops at St. Luke’s Primary – Brighton & Hove’s first school with its own solar panels – followed by Aldrington CofE, Lindfield, and Coldean Primaries, all with BEC solar installed.

At Cardinal Newman, our newest solar school, we delivered a career-focused event for Year 12 students and an Energy Sparks session for their Eco Ambassadors.

In December, we ran eight workshops for Year 9 pupils at Hove Park Upper. Their science lab was ideal for hands-on learning – and feedback from students, teachers, and senior staff was overwhelmingly positive:

“This is the most engaged my class has been all term. Thank you.”
– Mrs Trussler, Year 9 Teacher, Hove Park Upper

“This has made me so happy. I feel like I did something today!”
– Yara, Year 9 Student, Hove Park Upper

Girls Interested in STEM Building BEC Solar Cars

In January, five local secondary schools brought students to Hove Park Upper’s Girls in STEM event. We delivered three hands-on workshops to over 90 girls – the only experimental offering of the day – and it was a hit!

More Schools, More Impact

We returned to Woodingdean, and visited Westdene Primary, running sessions for the Neptune, Mars, and Saturn Year 5 classes – all of whom were buzzing with enthusiasm.

Our new workshop assistant Claudette Atkinson joined STEM teacher Matthew Holmes to deliver successful sessions at Balfour Primary, Varndean High, and Carden Nursery & Primary:

“Thank you for a lovely and engaging session. The children really enjoyed the hands-on activities!”
– Sam Smith, Year 5 Teacher, Carden Nursery & Primary

We rounded off the term with sessions at Saltdean Primary (with BHESCo solar), BACA, Our Lady of Lourdes in Rottingdean, Denton Primary in Newhaven, King’s School, and City Academy Whitehawk.