In September 2022, Varndean College was awarded the Bronze status as a Carbon Literate Organisation. This accreditation is the visible ‘badge’ that shows we are both committed to Carbon Literacy and serious about maintaining our low carbon culture. We are incredibly proud of this achievement.

A Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) is an organisation that has been accredited by The Carbon Literacy Project as having a substantial commitment to Carbon Literacy. This accreditation supports the development (in addition to the recruitment and retention) of a Carbon Literate workforce and requires an organisation to engage positively with its audience or community in developing and delivering low carbon
behaviour.

This follows the successful completion and subsequent implementation of the Carbon Literacy Qualification, a course which has been offered as a pilot scheme across Sussex colleges, with Varndean being one of the first in the country to offer this course. Achieving the Bronze CLO status is an important milestone for the college especially in light of the impending developments under the Masterplan.

The proposals within the plan seeks to improve the current college campus with works that ensure energy efficient buildings with a low carbon footprint in addition to the implementation of the college-wide sustainability projects such as the ecology garden.

Yaso Shan, our resident medical herbalist kick-started our clinic’s Autumn series of talks on holistic health and well-being. Her incredibly popular discussion on whether HRT is safe was presented in an informative and evidence-based manner on the recent controversies. She answered what many women want to know about the safety of HRT for menopause, providing reassurance and effective alternatives including plant remedies.

You can read the full transcript if the talk here.

For anyone interested in attending our Autumn series of free talks at Vinings Natural Health Centre, I shall be kicking things off with a talk on whether HRT is safe on Tuesday 13th September starting at 7.00pm.

 Clinic Talks (Autumn 2022)

Click here for more information: https://www.viningsnaturalhealthcentre.co.uk/free-talks-every-tuesday/ 

Varndean College students are celebrating the successful completion of the Carbon Literacy Qualification, a course which has been offered as a pilot scheme across Sussex colleges, with Varndean being one of the first in the country to offer this course.

Year 1 students across all subject areas undertook a 10-hour self-study programme on carbon literacy, which required them to learn about the science of climate change and exploring carbon footprints. They also learned more about how they can take action to reduce their own carbon footprint; aim to be carbon neutral at the very least, and at the best aim towards being zero carbon, considering ways to be more sustainable.

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Varndean College celebrates the success of Resham Bagaria, a second year A Level Biology student who competed in the 2022 British Biology Olympiad. She was awarded a Silver in this year’s competition which took place in March.

Over 10,000 students from more than 700 schools worldwide took part in this year’s competition held in March and she was in the 10% of students who were awarded Silver. This is a great achievement.

The British Biology Olympiad 2022 comprised two 45-minute papers. Resham sat them back-to-back on the same day. The first paper contained many questions about all aspects of biology. The second paper contained longer problem-solving questions. Candidates are normally presented with unfamiliar ideas and topics, and she would have had to use complex problem-solving skills and intuition to answer some of the more challenging questions.

Resham was mentored and coached by Yaso Shan, a Biology tutor at Varndean. She says “as ever, the competition questions were incredibly challenging, testing students’ ability to carefully consider, analyse and evaluate general scientific principles in addition to the depth and breadth of knowledge on all aspects of biology which candidates are asked to apply to complex problem-solving questions. It is a testament to Resham that she had the skills and intellectual acumen to meet these challenges under stringent time constraints in an exam setting. I congratulate her wholeheartedly for her resolve and aptitude”.

The British Biology Olympiad (BBO) is an annual competition that challenges and stimulates students with an interest in biology to expand and extend their talents. It enables students to demonstrate their talent and to be suitably rewarded with publicly recognised certificates. British Biology Olympiad 2022