Fairtrade Fortnight at OLCHS – A FairAware School
For two weeks each year, (this year it was Monday 25 February to Sunday 10 March) thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK come together to celebrate the people who grow our food, people who live in some of the poorest countries in the world and who are often exploited and badly paid. This year we focused on the people – in particular the women – who grow the cocoa in the chocolate we love so much.
The Fortnight started with each year group learning about the campaign in our Lenten themed assemblies led by our Chaplain Richard and Eden, Becky and Rebecca (Year 8) from the Fairtrade group. Pupils were surprised to hear the facts about how many cocoa farmers still earn less than the living income.
Year 8s learned more about this in their Geography lessons and produced cartoon strips showing how chocolate is made and the impact the Fairtrade Foundation has on cocoa farmers. Some classes even sourced Fairtrade chocolate to learn about the ingredients needed and where they have come from to make the final product, and enjoyed sampling them at the end of the lesson!
We finished the week with staff hosting a Fairtrade coffee morning, raising over £70 for the Fairtrade Foundation. We also had two Fairtrade stalls for staff and pupils which sold over £250 of Fairtrade products.
