Last month, Year 4 and 5 Bede’s Prep School Students dedicated some time to taking part in the Marine Conservation Society Beach Clean. They set off with data collection clipboards and litter pickers in hand, on the hunt for small pieces of plastic and litter along the Eastern Seafront in Eastbourne.

Gathering a range of plastic bottles, cans, fishing nets, bottle tops and even the odd sock, our pupils combed two sections of beach, tallying their finds as they went. Although the beach did not look too cluttered with litter on first glance, our pupils collected an astonishing two full bin bags in just 45 minutes.

Our pupils conducted themselves wonderfully, working as a team to help each other find and collect items. One member of the public stated how he was “proud to see so many pupils caring about our seas and he was happy to see that schools were actively encouraging pupils to be kinder to the environment.”

Upon returning to the school, we collected up all of our data and over the 100m stretch we found that 62% of it was plastic waste; bottles and food waste packages made up the majority of this total. Our pupils discussed ways that this problem could be resolved.

Pupils uploaded the results to the Marine Conservation portal and hope that the data collected will help to gain a better understanding on the types of litter that are most prominent in our oceans. We hope to contribute to finding a solution to limit the amount of rubbish in our seas and waterways.

Mark Hammond, Headmaster at Bede’s Prep School comments, “What a fantastic way for our pupils to get involved with the local community and play a part in this superb initiative. We are proud of our pupils working together to make a difference to our shores.”