St Robert's First School Wins CAFOD Live Simply Award for Sustainability

Pupils at St Robert's Catholic First School on Oldgate have been recognised with the CAFOD Live Simply Award, a national accolade for schools that live sustainably with creation and in solidarity with people living in poverty.

The award, from the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), was announced in late June 2026 and caps an 18-month project that ran across every year group at the Morpeth school.

What the children did

The work spanned the classroom, the school grounds and the wider community. According to the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, pupils took part in the CAFOD Big Lent Walk, staged their own Climate Justice Campaign exhibition, and marked Refugee Week.

Closer to home they held a community litter pick and supported a local foodbank. In school, they organised a pre-loved book swap, created a prayer garden, put up bird and bat boxes, and built bug hotels to encourage wildlife onto the site.

Best for: The Live Simply Award asks schools to demonstrate three commitments over time: to live simply, to live sustainably with creation, and to live in solidarity with the world's poorest communities.

A whole-school effort

The project was coordinated by Year 1 teacher Alice Butler, who also leads the school's Mini Vinnies group. "The project involved the whole school," she told the Independent Catholic News. "It took a lot of effort and a real commitment to achieve this."

The achievement has rippled out beyond the school gates, with the local parish now working towards its own Live Simply Award, supported by the children who have already been through the process.

St Robert's is a Catholic first school for ages 3 to 9 in the centre of Morpeth, near the Clock Tower, and is part of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.

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