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Claremont High School Academy

Thinking outside the box

Ms Hung reflects on Claremont High School’s participation in the UCL Ocean Health Challenge  

 

Plastic in our oceans has become a global crisis for all of us around the world. According to University College London, ‘More than 170 trillion pieces of plastic are now estimated to be floating in the world’s oceans.' This could soon triple if no action is taken.

As responsible stakeholders in the environment, students at Claremont High School have undertaken a ten-week series of lectures to design a prototype for the UCL Ocean Health Challenge - a nationwide competition that asks for innovative designs to prevent plastic from getting into our oceans. 
 

The challenge ran from 7th to 30th November 2024 and saw Claremont submit to UCL fifteen amazing individual and group entries from almost forty different students across the year groups. Pupils came up with a range of physical solutions, including: drones that can sort and remove plastic from the oceans; apps that encourage people not to use plastic; and legislation to stop plastic from being used.  

'This was an amazing experience that allowed us to be very creative and think outside the box,' said Prisha Sumaria in Year 13. 'At first it was challenging to think of a solution to mitigate the issue, but by working collaboratively we were able to build on ideas.'

'This challenge has given me the opportunity to be part of a solution by contributing to the reversal of ocean pollution,' added Happy Micu in Year 11. 'This has enhanced my creativity and problem-solving skills and given me an overview of what it's like to work in this field.' 

 

It’s hard to believe that these sophisticated solutions came from our young students and certainly gives me hope as a geographer that our future will be in the safe hands of these aspiring, sustainable engineers. We look forward to the results from UCL in March 2025!