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The Barlow RC High School in Manchester has become the first school to be accredited as a Carbon Literate Educator, reflecting a world-first commitment to embed climate education and action into its school’s ethos through Carbon Literacy.

Carbon Literate Educator accreditation recognises an educational institution as being committed to Carbon Literacy, maintaining and supporting a substantial number of Carbon Literate people, and positively utilising its influence in the community and wider world.

The accolade is timely for the Roman Catholic school, which is part of the Diocese of Salford; coinciding with the 10th-anniversary celebration of Pope Francis’s landmark ecological encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be), which called for global action to care for our “common home” and halt climate change. Pope Leo XIV echoed this call during celebrations last week, while calling out climate change sceptics.

Several universities and colleges across the UK and as far afield as Australia have gained accreditation as Carbon Literate Educators*, but the school in Manchester is the world’s first school to gain the prestigious accolade.

Local MP for Manchester Withington, Jeff Smith, who was also one of the first MPs to be certified when he was elected in 2015, presented students with their Carbon Literacy certificates, and Headteacher, Claire Wallace, with the school’s Carbon Literate Educator award. Referencing the news this week that global renewable energy generation surpassed coal for the first time, Jeff congratulated the school and its students for being leaders in the transition to a low-carbon society.

The Barlow RC High School engaged with Carbon Literacy in 2024, when three staff members received training through Manchester City Council. As part of the training, School Business Manager, Lesley Usher, pledged several impactful actions, including:

• Arranging the first Carbon Literacy training day for students.
• Embedding the climate action plan into the school development plan from September 2025.
• Ensuring any school building projects for the school are completed to the best standard of sustainability we are able to, ensuring insulation, solar power etc are used wherever possible.
• Working closely with the Diocese to explore any opportunities for sustainability projects.
• Offering to provide Carbon Literacy training for other teachers and staff in our local schools.

Quick progress was made with the first action, facilitated by Alison Tomlin, a certified Carbon Literacy Consultant with Speak Carbon Collective, gave the school permission to use her Carbon Literacy course, accredited for delivery to 11–18-year-old students. As a result, in July 2025, 38 students received the training and went on to become formally certified as Carbon Literate. Many pupils pledged to educate others about climate change by getting involved in training with local primary schools, or friends and families.

Since implementing Carbon Literacy, The Barlow RC High School has appointed two sustainability leads; one focused on weaving sustainability into the curriculum, while the other focuses on non-curricular action. From waste management to lesson planning, Carbon Literacy has created a sense of shared responsibility to reduce emissions and made climate action part of everyday thinking across the school.

Claire Wallace, Headteacher at The Barlow RC High School, commented:

“We’re proud to lead the way in climate education. This accreditation shows our commitment to empowering students to take real action for a better future.”

Following the course’s success at The Barlow RC High School, Alison and Speak Carbon are allowing other Manchester Schools and Multi Academy Trusts to use the course, so that as many 11-18-year-old students as possible can be trained and upskilled in Carbon Literacy. As the city’s future workforce and leaders, this directly supports Manchester’s goal to become the world’s first Carbon Literate City; an ambition launched by Manchester City Council a year ago today.

Speaking about the decision to create and share the course, Alison Tomlin said:

“Our Carbon Literacy for 11-18 year olds course is designed to be delivered flexibly to suit any timetable. With a strong focus on positivity and wellbeing, our course builds understanding on the science and impacts of climate and supports students to develop plans to take action within their schools, homes and communities. We are delighted to be able to share this course with educators and those working with young people free of charge, in order to spread this knowledge as far and wide as possible”.

This generous offer will help schools overcome time and budget barriers to implementing Carbon Literacy and jump-starting their climate action plan. If your school is interested in accessing Carbon Literacy training for students or staff, get in touch with The Carbon Literacy Project at [email protected].

*See our Class of 2025 Yearbook for details of all the educational institutions accredited as Carbon Literate Educators in the second year of the accreditation.