Recognition as Oundle pupils rise to the challenge

The Great Green Wall, an African-led movement with an epic ambition to grow an 8,000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa, aims to provide a solution to the many urgent threats facing the global community - notably climate change, drought, famine, conflict and migration.

Looking for an initiative to bring their community together (with a dose of healthy House competition) during lockdown as well as contributing positively to the wider global community, the GGW House Challenge was born.

The idea is to virtually travel the 7750km length of the GGW, passing through 11 countries, and learning about the geography, people, traditions and culture of each different country along the way. Children earn kilometres by completing a range of tasks, from walking and running 5km to cycling 10km, to recycling, litter picking, making bird feeders, tidying bedrooms, cooking family meals, doing the washing, building a den and designing and building a futuristic eco Lego house.

They have litter picked in Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Rutland and the biggest earner, planting a tree, has been achieved by many pupils – earning 15km per tree!

By Day 5, pupils, families and staff had collectively covered over 3000km, with fact files and activity packs for each country being released with every 500km travelled, and this caught the eye of Lee Wray-Davies, the Eco-Schools Manager for England, on twitter.

He contacted the school and asked to feature them on the Eco-Schools website as an example of best practice.

The School is continuing with the challenge as they make their way across Africa, as of day 12 they have covered 7200km, and are now hoping to achieve the Eco-Schools coveted Green Flag status