St Edmund's was recently featured in the 'The News' for it's Fairtrade status.

Read the full story below, reproduced with the kind permission of 'The News'

By Sion Donovan
Education reporter

PUPILS have gone bananas as their school becomes the first to get Fairtrade status in Portsmouth.

To qualify, St Edmund's Catholic School has heavily promoted Fairtrade products for the past two years and sold healthy cakes, bars and drinks to other pupils twice a week from a stall outside the school chaplaincy.

All the biscuits and refreshments during staff meetings and parents evenings are Fairtrade.

Pupils even persuaded post office workers in Portsmouth and Bognor Regis to offer ethical tea and coffee to visitors.

The bid was co-ordinated by the chaplain, Linda Guilding, who said: 'We're thrilled. We've put in a mammoth amount of work to provide the evidence needed. It's something we've worked on for two years.

'We're the first school in Portsmouth to achieve this and the first Catholic school in the diocese of Portsmouth, which stretches as far as Oxford. It's an achievement the whole school can be proud of.'

As well as selling goods, ordering stock and running a small business, pupils also learn about the ethical impact of Fairtrade products as part of English, religious education and IT lessons.

Mrs Guilding said: 'It's about opening their eyes to the world beyond Portsmouth and allowing people to trade fairly. As a Catholic school that's very important to us.'

The school has become such an expert that it is helping Holbrook Primary School in Gosport with its Fairtrade status and it even attracted a charity envoy from Washington DC who wants to repeat St Edmund's success in the United States.

And the school's good
example is starting to rub off on parents.

Mrs Guilding said: 'Some parents said because so much is talked about Fairtrade in school newsletters that whenever they go to the shops they buy at least one Fairtrade product.

Fairtrade status lasts for a year before schools have to show an even greater commitment to renew their status.

The Fairtrade mark is an independent consumer label that guarantees disadvantaged producers in the developing world get a better deal.

It was designed in 1988 after development agencies recognised the important role that consumers could play to improve the situation for producers by buying direct from farmers at better prices.

Towns, villages, universities and now schools can be awarded Fairtrade status by showing a commitment to Fairtrade products.

Celebrity supporters include Coldplay's Chris Martin, U2's Bono and actress Sienna Miller.