COP28 summit: Kent school wins $150,000 prize for its beehive business

Teacher Michael Jones and pupils Callum and James celebrate winning their prize

A British secondary school has won a $150,000 (£118,000) prize for climate innovation at the COP28 summit in Dubai.

Northfleet Technology College in Kent picked up the Zayed Sustainability Prize for its school beehive business.

The school's two beehives produce honey and wax which are then used for creating sustainable products.

Speaking at the ceremony, pupil Callum, 17, said "we were elated after all this hard work".

The sale of honey and wax products provides a source of income for 6,000 pupils at 10 schools, with surplus money used to develop smaller school sites to produce food crops, solar power systems and environmental monitoring.

James, 16, said: "This project is specifically about food sustainability, community involvement and entrepreneurship."

"We are going to bring other schools here and teach them how to make their own green spaces."

'Remarkable ingenuity'

Northfleet pupils were among 11 winners at the ceremony, attended by numerous heads of delegations participating in COP28.

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, chairman of the jury and former president of Iceland, said: "This year's winners have demonstrated a remarkable wave of ingenuity in their solutions to address urgent global challenges."

The Kent pupils aim to spend their prize money taking mobile beehives around the UK to spread their message about sustainability.

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