Empowering Energy Education: BEC’s Work in Local Schools

It’s about time we updated you on our dedication to supporting local schools through our innovative BEC Solar Education Programme. By partnering with local schools, we assist staff in educating children about solar energy, carbon and sustainability.  We also support school management teams to take a deep dive into their energy use and solar production, to make significant cost savings. Pupils and staff work together with us to reduce the school’s carbon footprint.

Coldean Primary’s swimming pool & BEC solar system

We use the unique school-specific energy management tool and energy education programme Energy Sparks. In fact, Coldean Primary are currently 2nd on their South East England scoreboard, having gained 100 points for setting up the Coldean Carbon Crushers.  Since our workshop the kids have examined the school’s energy baseload and appointed energy monitors in each class to check lights & electrical equipment aren’t left on at lunch time.  They’ve labelled lights and appliances to show which should be left on or turned off, and run an energy focused all school assembly.  Coldean saved almost £4.5k with their BEC solar system alone last year.  Imagine what they can do now everyone is using Energy Sparks to save energy. Go Coldean Carbon Crushers!

Matthew Holmes demonstrating solar cars at Woodingdean Primary School

Our educators frequently visit schools to host interactive workshops, with a standout activity being the building of solar electric cars. This hands-on experience not only excites students, but also teaches them about renewable energy in a fun and engaging way. Our facilitator, Matthew Holmes, is a qualified STEM (science, technology, engineering & maths) teacher so we can ensure the education is top notch.  We also demo a number of solar car models and a robot that can see you!

The Balfour workshop learning interactions were fast-paced and wonderful to behold

The kids show real resilience, determination and dexterity whilst building their solar buggy kits to race.  To ensure the fun and learning continue long after we’ve gone, Brighton Energy T-shirts are left with the class teacher to award to the most engaged students, and the whole workshop is left in a ‘BEC Box’.  The box contains teacher’s notes, a presentation, carbon saving prompt cards, LEDs and 2 x full solar car kits.   Check out some short videos of the solar cars in action on the BEC YouTube channel.

We’re honoured to be able to make these free workshops available to local school children through BEC’s Community Fund. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us create and promote the BEC Solar Education Programme. It’s all thanks to you, our members, supporters and solar site partners. Together we can do so much more to combat climate change and transition to a cleaner energy future for our children.