What is HeadStart Eco Committee?
"The Earth is what we all have in common." Wendell Berry

At the start of the 2023-24 academic year, HeadStart embarked on a new initiative to coordinate the long standing work of the school community in areas of Sustainable Practice: HeadStart Eco-School.

In our first year, we sought to establish structures and systems which will enable our Sustainable Practices to be self-sustaining and driven by our students. Across the school, we have established 4 student-led Eco Committees directly involving 40 students from Early Years to Year 13. We have implemented a range of campaigns and practices across the school, some of which are outlined below. Raising wider community awareness has also been a strong part of our efforts, epitomised by regular Weekly Updates on our work and actions that parents can implement at home to help make Phuket more sustainable. Through the establishment of a self-sustaining model of Sustainable Learning for a Sustainable World, we hope to create a wider network of interested and active organisations, schools and businesses within Phuket, Thailand and south East Asia.

Our Schedule of Activities for 2026-27

“Sustainability is more than just a word. It is a belief, a mindset and an action. When we at HeadStart talk of sustainable practices we see these operating at different levels of scale. As individuals we must first be able to care for ourselves, secondarily care for those within our community and finally care for the non-human world that we are part of.”

Robert Gratton (HeadStart Eco School Founder and HeadStart Eco School Coordinator 2022-2026)

Working With WWF Thailand

Green Academy Programme

Student-Led Sustainability Programme for Schools is a national initiative by WWF Foundation, in strategic partnership with Chulalongkorn University (Chula Zero Waste)

Programme Overview

Green Academy is a structured, student-led sustainability programme designed to develop student leadership, measurable environmental improvement, and continuous institutional learning within schools. HeadStart Eco School is a proud, and founding member school, of this initiative.

The programme follows a continuous improvement cycle aligned with the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) framework. Schools implement the full programme cycle annually and are assessed based on clearly defined certification criteria.

Green Academy recognises evidence-based action, measurable environmental progress, and structured institutional reflection. Certification is awarded based on performance against the official Green Academy Assessment and Scoring Framework. Our collective Eco School activities, in particular our Mangrove Project seeks to enable HeadStart to be recognised as a Green Academy School by June 2027.

Programme Cycle

PLAN: Form the Team → Discover Issues → Plan Solutions

DO: Test and Improve

CHECK: Track Progress

ACT: Show the Work → Grow Further

Find Out More: Green Academy Outline