Water is precious – save it and use it well
Educating our children, shaping values, bringing families together and laying the foundations for how the next generation sees the world – schools sit at the heart of any community
Greener Henley has been working with local schools since 2020 – running assemblies, supporting teachers and bringing students together for events that connect them to the natural world.
In October 2025 we brought this work together under the Green Futures Awards: the UK’s first independently-run, local awards programme supporting schools in the Henley area to take climate and nature action – and the first schools awards programme in the country to embed resilience into everyday learning and operations.
Our programme is designed to work for everyone – from pupils in the classroom to teachers navigating new requirements and families at home
With climate action plans now a requirement for schools, we offer practical guidance on how to implement them – reducing the burden on already over-stretched staff.
With climate action plans now a requirement for schools, we offer practical guidance on how to implement them – reducing the burden on already over-stretched staff.
Our work with schools extends the reach of our wider campaigns – such as Pledge for the Planet and Nature Squared – into family homes and across the school community.
Schools taking part in the Green Futures programme progress through bronze, silver, and gold levels, with each stage building on the last – from community engagement, through active projects and curriculum integration, to climate leadership. In February 2026, Gillotts School received the first Silver award; Sonning Common Primary the first Gold.
We also run two annual events open to every local school: the Environmental Science Challenge [LINK TO PAGE] in Spring and the Science Fair [LINK TO PAGE] in Autumn – hands-on, creative opportunities for children of all ages to connect with the natural world.
[Heading: Beyond Henley or Take it further/ Rooted in Henley. Built to travel.]
Our schools programme is rooted in Henley, but the model is designed to be replicable. If you’re a community group interested in bringing Green Futures to your area, we’d love to hear from you. We’re happy to share all our resources: all we ask is that you let us know and credit us.
Get in touch: [email protected].
Our Green Futures Awards recognise and celebrate schools’ climate and nature action at three progressive levels:
Greener Henley’s awards programme is rooted in the Henley community, linking schools directly with local nature campaigns and events such as Greener Henley’s Nature Squared campaign. It uniquely embeds resilience at its heart, helping schools to prepare for increasing climate impacts such as flash flooding and intense heat.
Launched online in October 2025 to an initial audience of 15 local schools, the awards generated immediate interest and a strong first wave of applications.
By February 2026, the first cohort had been recognised with 12 awards. Gillotts School received the first Silver award, and Sonning Common Primary received the first Gold award.
The Green Futures Awards programme is open to schools in Henley and the surrounding areas, extending to Caversham, Wargrave, Benson, Goring-on-Thames, and the Hambleden Valley. Any schools (nursery to secondary / colleges) interested in joining the programme can find more information, including how to sign up, at [LINK TO SIGN UP FORM}
At Greener Henley, we believe the Green Futures Awards have the potential to inspire communities beyond our town.
We are delighted to share our resources and learning with local groups across the country who would like to develop similar initiatives in their own areas. By working together and exchanging ideas, we can amplify the impact of community-led climate and nature action nationwide.
If you’d like to understand more about what the Awards involve – including their aims, structure, and community impact – you can watch the recording of our online launch event here.
We’d love to hear from groups interested in bringing Green Futures to their own communities.
We run two annual events, both of which any local school can take part in, whether or not they are not participating in our Awards programme. Greener Henley’s Schools Science Fair – an event that we have organised and run since 2024 – regularly welcomes over 100 children from more than 15 local schools for peer-led learning and discovery of our natural world. In 2025 the Science Fair was hosted by Henley College, where media students made a short film of the event.
Our second yearly event is our Environmental Science Challenge [link to more info/blog], which invites schools and students to consider a different theme or question each year. In 2026 the theme is ‘Stop! Look! Listen! Noticing Nature’, prompting everyone to notice the diversity of wildlife that surrounds us. Participants are encouraged to be as creative as they like in response to the theme.
In past years submissions have spanned various curriculum subjects – not just science, but combinations of maths, English, art, design and technology. How each school approaches this challenge is for them to decide. We aim to publicly display the resulting works. In the past we have exhibited this work at the River & Rowing Museum and the 2026 entries will go on display at Henley’s Old Firestation Gallery.
