TIGHS’ supercharged visit from climate campaigner
Pupils at Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Sixth Form College (TIGHS) were amongst the first in the country to learn about a pioneering sustainability project that will take place on the other side of the world.
The secondary school in Blackburn received a visit from Stuart McBain, founder of the Charge Around Australia challenge, who will drive 9,380 miles around the entire coast of Australia in an electric vehicle powered by printed and ultra-thin recycled solar panels on its surface.
Stuart’s challenge will seek to prove how sustainable power is the future of transport, and that it can provide free energy in even the most remote places on the planet.
As part of the talk, TIGHS pupils participated in a live call with scientists at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. During the video call, pupils were given an opportunity to ask questions to the scientists developing the technology used in the project.
There was also a chance for pupils to see the solar-powered car being used in the challenge and to marvel at the paper-thin solar panels that will power the lap of Australia. The solar sheets are made largely from recycled PET plastic – which is widely used to produce soft drinks bottles – meaning that at the end of their useful life they can be recycled into another product, unlike traditional solar panels which end up in landfill.
Taslim Patel, Director of Learning for Science at TIGHS, said:
“Solar power will be increasingly important for future generations, and this was an exciting opportunity to learn first-hand from the experts about new innovations in technology which could be a game changer here in the UK and around the world.”
Stuart McBain added: “We wanted to visit TIGHS as they have an excellent reputation for science and technology. We will also be visiting Australian schools almost every day during our trip so there’s plenty of opportunity for UK students and those in Oz to join forces and learn from each other’s experiences.”
Added By: Star Academies | Date Added: 25th Jul 2022 | Posted In: Key Notices, Latest News