Tealby School’s strike against climate change
More than a dozen Year Six pupils from Tealby School stood outside the village’s Tennyson d’Eyncourt Hall with handmade signs reading ‘Act now before it is too late’ and chanted ‘School strike for climate change’.
A spokesman for Tealby School said: “Pupils in Year Six feel so strongly about the effect we are having on climate change, they decided to do something about it!
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“After reading a newspaper article about Greta Thunberg, the Year Six children decided they wanted to do something to show their commitment to the cause of climate change.
“By striking from school, the pupils would hope that this will encourage politicians to act on climate change.
“As staff, we believe that in our lifetimes the Earth will be in danger because of climate change.
“These pupils are going to be responsible for the future, so it’s very important for the young generation to be able to speak up about climate change.”
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Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old from Sweden who first staged a school strike for the climate in front of the Swedish parliament in August last year.
Since then, she has been missing lessons most Fridays to stage her regular protests - and has now been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in honour of her efforts.
One pupil named Jedd initially brought the article about Greta Thunberg in to Tealby School.
He said: “I saw a newspaper article and thought it was a good cause.
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“I talked to the class and we decided to do the strike to raise awareness.”
Another pupil who took part in the strike is Lily.
She said: “We’ve already done Plastic Free Friday at our school and this was a new challenge to raise awareness.
“You might not think your little contribution matters - but it does!”
Pupils in Horncastle and Louth also ditched the classroom to take part in strikes against climate change on Friday.
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One student, Holly Pavey (12) from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Horncastle, said: “Climate change is out of hand and the Government needs to take action.”
Before the protest took place, Holly explained: “Although I love school and will be missing two of my favourite lessons, I’m going on strike because I am scared that the world I will be growing up to live in will not be habitable due to the effects of runaway climate change.
“This will not just affect those living on islands in the Pacific, it will affect us here as well.
“With rising sea levels, 10% of Britain will disappear under water, including large parts of Lincolnshire.
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“The unpredictable climate will leave us with severe shortages of food, fresh water and power.
“If this was to happen, there would be a breakdown of law in our country, with people fighting over scraps of food or the last few drops of drinking water that might still be available.
“This is what young people of my generation have to look forward to if we don’t act urgently.
“Young people and older people with children or grandchildren should all take this situation very seriously.”
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Holly added: “I’m sure that they will understand and sympathise with my reasons for striking.”
In Louth, hundreds of students from King Edward VI Grammar School gathered at the protest organised by a group of Year 10/11 students.
Organisers Shannon and Madeleine said: “A month ago, on February 15, we saw that other schools and places around the UK, in big cities, held youth strike for climate change protests.
“We thought that, since there wasn’t anything happening in the Louth area last month, we’d organised something for this time now it’s happening again all round the country.
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“We wanted it to be bigger, and we wanted to capture people’s attention, and that’s what inspired us to do it.”
Shannon and Madeleine added: “The teachers have been supportive, and Mr Lascelles was on board with it straight away. They’ve been very helpful.
“We’re really proud of everyone who has participated, the students and the staff. It’s been really good and the majority of the school turned up.”
Read more at: https://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/politics/video-louth-students-strike-in-protest-against-climate-change-1-8851142