Guest essay by Eric Worrall

A child activist interviewed by the BBC is disappointed that some “educated people” resist climate indoctrination enough to accept jobs from oil companies.

Climate change: Schools failing us, say pupils

By Judith Burns

Education reporter

“It’s educated people who are causing the most damage to the planet,” says sixth-former Joe Brindle.

Joe, 17, says schools need to put the environment at the heart of education.

Ministers agree “it is vital that pupils are taught about climate change” but Joe says schools are failing to prepare them for a climate emergency.

He is a founder member of Teach the Future which next week takes its call for an environmental overhaul of education to Parliament.

“It’s people with degrees from Oxford and Cambridge who are becoming fossil-fuel chief executives and they are the ones who are causing the most destruction to our world,” says Joe.

“And therefore that kind of shows that education is not succeeding and that our education is broken because education should be creating better people not worse.”

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In a statement, the government said: “It is vital that pupils are taught about climate change, which is why topics are included across the national curriculum for both primary and secondary schools. Teachers have the freedom to expand on these areas if they wish.

“This government is a world leader in tackling climate change and we are the first major economy to legislate for net-zero emissions by 2050. The Department for Education provides funding to support schools to become more sustainable institutions.”

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