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Tanbridge set to start a water revolution

Tanbridge House school are taking part in a pioneering new programme to inspire teenagers to cut their water and carbon footprint with a helping hand from designers and water industry experts.

Tanbridge is one of five schools across the South East that are the first to take part in the Water Design Challenge, a new educational programme run by Southern Water and the Design Council.

The challenge will see designers working with students to help them investigate how much water their school uses and where they are wasting it.  They will give expert guidance on how to develop practical water saving solutions using innovative design techniques to reduce the school’s water use and save energy.

Water industry experts will help students understand how the water cycle works and how important it is for us to protect our resources. Visits to Southern Water’s sites will also be arranged so the students learn more about the process of supplying quality drinking water and removing the waste produced so it can be cleaned and returned to the environment.

Headteacher, Mr Jules White, said: “It is very important for our students to understand ways of providing a sustainable future. Saving water is an important lesson for us all to learn and by getting our students involved in a project such as this can only help them to understand why saving water is so important.  By being one of the first schools to take part in this exciting challenge they will also have the opportunity to come up with new ideas on how water can be saved.”

David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council, said: “It’s terrific and inspiring to see schools so enthusiastic about the Water Design Challenge, and to see Southern Water’s forward thinking approach to using design to encourage more sustainable water use. Britain will need bright ideas to solve the environmental challenges we face in the future and thanks to this project, these students will be amongst the next generation of creative thinkers that will help that happen.” 

Geoff Loader, Southern Water’s Communications Director, said: “This is a really innovative and inspirational programme that will see teenagers across our region get to the heart of the issues around water resources and come up with practical and creative ways to make changes.  It is fantastic that we are leading the way in what will hopefully become a high profile, national challenge that will reach out to students across the UK.”

The challenge will run during the summer term and culminate with judging and a celebration event in July.   More information about the Water Design Challenge can be found at www.waterdesignchallenge.com