Sustainability

Excellence in Education Award

Abbey Community College was announced runner up in the national ETBI Excellence in Education Award for our 2024 Sustainability Week initiative. We welcome this award as recognition of the work of our Sustainability committee and whole-school community as we continue to promote Sustainability.

AIB Future Sparks Award

We’re thrilled to announce that Abbey Community College's Sustainability Committee also received an Exemplary School Award in the AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards!

The judges praised our student-led Sustainability Week, which empowered students to take real action through fun and educational activities like quizzes, competitions, and inspiring guest speakers — all promoting environmental responsibility.

Sustainability Committee:

The Sustainability Committee in the Abbey is a student-led group of students ranging from 1^st - 6^th Year. As members of the committee, students are encouraged to take a leading role in the development of sustainability across our school community. Over the years, students have been empowered to participate in many initiatives, some of which include student-led teaching to 1^st Year classes, engage in a recycling rota (emptying class-room bins) and updating the Sustainability Noticeboard on a regular basis.

Last year we were delighted to partner "Education for Sustainability" as one of four "model schools" nationwide - promoting sustainability across the school community, working directly with them to educate 2^nd Year students on an 8 week Climate Literacy Course.

As of the 2025/2026 school year, we are now a "Member School" with Education for Sustainability.

Sustainability in Action 2025

Following on from our award-winning inaugural Sustainability Week of 2024, where The Abbey was recognised in the "Excellence in Education" award at the annual ETBI Awards, our staff and students continued with the rolling out of environmentally-friendly initiatives for Sustainability Week 2025.

Activities included:

Student-led teaching to 1^st Years on the theme of plastic
Whole-year quiz for 1^st Years in The Hub
Student-led morning announcements, promoting the day's itinerary to the whole-school community, over the intercom
"Race for the Climate" outdoors, promoting "Good Health and Wellbeing, SDG 3.
Student-led "Sustainability Exhibition" in The Hub (visual display of projects for students to observe
"Technology Detox Day" - Some teachers went "Old School" for one day!
"5 minutes of Sustainability" each day at 12.15 for the whole school community.
Guest speakers from both Education for Sustainability and The Environmental Protection Agency
Promotion and correct use of our 3 "Deposit Re-turn Bins

Sustainability in Action 2023-2024

The 2023-2024 school year marked an exciting time in Abbey Community College's journey towards Sustainability.

Things began in basic fashion - as both staff and students were surveyed, with the goal of establishing attitudes and behaviours around Sustainability. Results showed that although knowledge around the subject was high, there was a desire from the community to engage more widely in sustainable practices.

This led to the formation of the "Sustainability Committee", which was a mix of staff and students (ranging from 1st - 6th Year).

The concept of Sustainability is so broad and can be intimidating - where does one start?

A decision was made to keep it simple, which led us to the slogan #ASmallStepTowardsSustainability

Our "Sustainable Thought of the Week" was shared with the whole school community every Monday through Microsoft Teams and our social media channels.

Our wonderful students rolled out the "Going Out? Lights Out!" initiative, where the school community was encouraged to reduce energy waste, by turning off lights, projectors, laptops, etc. if they were not in use.

We then decided to highlight the issue of single-use-plastics via our second initiative - "No Plastic? That's Fantastic!". Efforts were made to promote reusable cups/bottles and flasks, which would not only benefit the wider environment, but our own fantastic school community. Although the response was satisfactory, it is something we hope to continue tackling next year.

Our next step, was in fact a "big step" towards sustainability. We ran our inaugural "Sustainability Week" in early April. It proved to be a great success. Each day was aligned with the a specific goal from the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

We launched it to the whole-school community on the Monday morning over the intercom. This was followed by Odile Le Bolloch from the EPA, who visited 1^st Years, and spoke about the issue of food waste.

Tuesday 9^th saw members of our student committee engage in student-led teaching to 1^st Years. The topic centred around the issues which arise because use of plastics.

We ran a whole-year quiz for 1^st Years in conjunction with this teaching, with great fun had, as well as learning about Sustainability.

Writing and Art competitions were held, with outstanding artwork, poems and stories submitted by students from across the school community. All work had to relate to the theme of Sustainability. Prizes were allocated to the various winners.

Other events which took place throughout the week included some members of staff going "Old School" for the day. In an attempt to reduce electricity usage, whiteboards/laptops/projectors were turned off for our "Technology Detox Day". Feedback was very positive.

Friday 12^th focused on Wellbeing, where a whole-school "Drop Everything and Read" was carried out, while staff and students were encouraged to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take walks/breaks from the classroom and make use of our lovely outdoor space.

Our 6^th Year committee signed off the week by delivering a reflective speech over the intercom. In it they applauded the great work that was done by everyone and encouraged the school community to maintain and build on the progress made, in the years ahead.

Student Reflection

We look forward to continuing our work in the coming school year.

#ASmallStepTowardsSustainability