Fairtrade Fortnight at St Benedict's

Published on isbi School News dated Monday 24th of March 2014

Fairtrade Fortnight ran at St Benedict's from 24th February until 9th March and both Junior and Senior Schools embraced the campaign wholeheartedly.

Junior School pupils enjoyed a 'Wellies Day' and a 'Green Jumper Day'. A whole school bunting was made and the winner of the Pudding Competition was seven year old Ben McCarthy. Ben's Brilliant Banana Buffins were served at lunch and very tasty they were too!

In the Senior School, the Eco Committee got pupils involved by getting them to sign Fairtrade pledges promising to support Banana farmer 'Foncho' and to buy Fairtrade whenever they could. These pledges were presented by Year 10 pupil Ben Farmer to local MP Virenda Sharma at the Ealing Fairtrade group event. Amar Bawa (Year 9) was the winner of the cake competition.

An extra effort by the kitchen staff ensured that many of the dishes served over the fortnight contained Fairtrade ingredients. This is something the Eco Committee will continue to work on in the next few months as they help the school achieve Fairtrade schools status.

Writing to parents ahead of the Fairtrade Fortnight, Mrs Selina Smith, the Senior School Environmental Coordinator, said: 'Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.' Parents were invited to support the campaign by signing an online petition.