Pupils at Crompton House School toasted Fairtrade Fortnight by welcoming a guest Rosa Helena Lopez de Soto all the way from Columbia  . Rosa grows her coffee beans in the remote heights of the Andes

Crompton House became  a Fairtrade School in September 2008. We were the first school in Oldham to gain this status and this was the end result of a years hard work. We established a Fairtrade Action Group and drew up a number of ideas. We held monthly meetings and one of the first tasks was to stock Fairtrade Juices in the vending machines. We also stock THIRSTY PLANET water. (ethical water)

At the Christmas Fair we also held a Fairtrade Stall donating all proceeds to the PTFA.

During Fairtrade Fortnight we held a daily Fairtrade Café selling Fairtrade hot chocolate, Fairbreak bars plus other Fairtrade products. We also held a Coffee Morning, all proceeds being donated to Action Aid. A Fairtrade Hamper was raffled off and proceeds donated to Traidcraft.

For the Geography Fieldtrip to Iceland all students wore Fairtrade T-Shirts, sponsored by DB Knoll, a local Shaw company supplying Fairtrade products.

Mr Douglas also ran an evening session with St Mary’s Beaver Group. The boys played a simplified Trading Game to show the inequalities in Global Trade. All boys received a Fairtrade Goodie Bag, donated by First Foods.

Future activities all Fairtrade cotton bags for the new intake and also the possibility of pupils wearing a Fairtrade organic polo shirt for PE.

Fairtrade is covered in around 4 subject areas, notably Geography, PSHE, RS and ICT and it is hoped that other students will get involved in future events. A Social Enterprise Day was held for Year 8 pupils last summer where students learnt about Fairtrade and social enterprise schemes.

This year we have held a non uniform day and all proceeds are to supply Water Pumps in Malawi.www.crompton-house.oldham.sch.uk