Plans to make County Durham students sit in cold classrooms to make a school "more sustainable" for a day have been cancelled following uproar from parents.
Hundreds of students at Wolsingham School in County Durham were set to take part in what was dubbed as 'Blue Nose Day' on Friday (October 18) and go a full day in school with no heating.
In an email seen by D&S Times' sister paper The Northern Echo, students were advised to wear more layers and "extra thick socks" for the full day as temperatures in the town were forecast to have a low of 12C.
Blue Nose Day - Friday 18th October
Dear parent/carer,
On Friday 18th October 2024 our school will be taking part in a blue nose day. This will entail the heating being turned off throughout the school day to conserve energy. We are doing this to help reduce our school's carbon footprint and raise the importance of being more sustainable.
On the 18th October, students should maintain the exact uniform standards as usual, but we are recommending that they wear a black v neck jumper (if you already have one) or any non-visible layers under their uniform (skins, vest, plain white t-shirt, extra thick socks).
Please note hoodies will not be permitted and blazers should be worn.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns.
Kind regards,
Mr Heath
Following the circulation of the email online, parents from across the country have taken to social media in outrage, saying that "I’d be keeping my child away" as others say the move would have been "unbelievably irresponsible".
Another concerned parent said they received the email but their daughter "won't be going in" and will "be at home nice and warm".
One person wrote that they felt "sorry for the students" before the u-turn.
Now, the school, which is part of the Advance Learning Partnership Multi-Academy Trust have confirmed that the planned event has been cancelled and will instead be rescheduled to next summer.
A second email sent to parents reads: "As you will be aware the students involved in the Climate Action Team have been planning a Blue Nose Day for this Friday 18th October 2024.
"The event was designed to raise the importance in our school community of being more sustainable and in a small way reduce the school's carbon footprint.
"The date was carefully chosen by looking at average temperatures by month and short-term weather forecasts, indicating a temperature in Wolsingham of approx. 15C on Friday.
"After careful consideration and speaking to several parents regarding their concerns, the Blue Nose Day scheduled for Friday 18 October 2024 will now not go ahead as planned.
"School will be open as usual with staff and students not needing to wear extra layers of clothing and with the heating switched on as on a normal school day.
"Students in the Climate Action Team have already played a key part in making Wolsingham School more sustainable in other ways over the last few academic years.
"This includes the installation of filtered water coolers, meaning the amount of single-use plastic, from water bottles, has been reduced to extremely close to zero.
"The climate action team will now plan for the day to occur in the Summer term 2025 and will communicate with parents/carers leading up to it with details of the event."
The Advance Learning Partnership Multi-Academy Trust has been contacted for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here