Founded in 1984 with only a handful of students, Trinity College in South Australia has grown into six schools providing education to around 4,000 students across campuses located in Evanston South, Angle Vale, Blakeview and Roseworthy. The college prides itself on environmental initiatives and recently shared their experience with Solar Schools.

How would you describe your school?
Trinity College was first established in 1984 in St George’s Parish Hall Gawler with just 27 students. Today, it has grown to five Reception to Year 10 schools, with our sixth school at Roseworthy opening in 2024. The College also operates three preschools and a dedicated Senior school for students in Years 11 and 12.  Including the preschools, the College has more than 4,400 students currently enrolled making it the biggest school in South Australia and one of the biggest in the country.

Trinity College was first established in 1984 in St George’s Parish Hall Gawler with just 27 students. Today, it has grown to five Reception to Year 10 schools, with our sixth school at Roseworthy opening in 2024. The College also operates three preschools and a dedicated Senior school for students in Years 11 and 12.  Including the preschools, the College has more than 4,400 students currently enrolled making it the biggest school in South Australia and one of the biggest in the country.

At Trinity College, we want students to have the best of both worlds. Our model encompasses a central administration hub with key shared facilities connecting our individual school sites. This approach allows our students to experience the advantages and resources of a large, modern College while receiving the individual attention that is usually associated with smaller schools.

Photo credit: Trinity College

Did your school have Energy & Sustainability measures put in place before joining the Solar Schools program?
The College’s aim is to be a leader in the community and amongst schools in actioning environmental sustainability.  We have heavily invested in sustainability initiatives over a long time and when measured over five years, these initiatives have delivered more than $9 million in financial savings and reduced our carbon emissions by nearly 5,000 tonnes across the key areas of water, energy and waste.

At the same time as joining the Solar Schools program, the College developed and implemented a comprehensive Environmental Sustainability Plan, which builds on the considerable achievements already made.  The Plan sets out how the College will integrate nature further into our school grounds and classrooms, reduce our carbon emissions, ultimately to net zero, and adapt our facilities and operations to be more ecologically sustainable. We will also further integrate environmental sustainability into the curriculum, and across the College’s culture, continuing to prepare our students with the skills and aptitude required to thrive in tomorrow’s world.

How did you first hear about the Solar Schools program and what prompted your school to want to join?
Zen Energy, who installed 1,277 kW of solar across the College, introduced us to Solar Schools in 2020.  This aligned perfectly with the work the College was already doing to meaningfully engage students in sustainability and provide linkages to teaching and learning through the curriculum.   Solar Schools has provided a further platform to promote this.  The College is deeply dedicated to fostering not only the leaders of tomorrow – aware, resilient, adaptable and caring – but supporting young people to find their leadership voices today.

Does the Solar Schools program help your teaching team achieve education objectives?
Solar Schools supports the College’s sustainability initiatives in a number of ways.  It provides real-time data from the College’s own solar panels that students can analyse to better understand the benefit of solar in a real world and relatable scenario.  It also provides meaningful and engaging lesson plans across a range of sustainability themed topics, assisting our teachers to better incorporate key sustainability themes into their teaching.  The teaching resources provided are immensely valuable particularly as they are aligned with the Australian curriculum through their ingenious use of cross-curricular links. The ready-made resources for teachers are particularly beneficial, saving time and enhancing our educational approaches. The Solar Schools dashboard provides a valuable collaborative tool to show students how their school efforts can make an impact, along with other school children, but together the environment is improved.

Does the Solar Schools program help students achieve energy/sustainability goals at school and home?
The College’s aim is to more positively impact the environment beyond our school gates.  With more than 4,400 students currently enrolled, if we can engage students in a more meaningful way, they will be more likely to implement change in their own lives.  Sustainability in learning is fundamental and will assist our young people to better understand the relationship between humans, living things and the natural environment; by involving them in sustainable practices and facilitating their growth into leaders, setting them on the path to becoming caring and responsible local and global citizens, and instilling environmental stewardship.

What activities has your school/classrooms undertaken that are changing behaviours around energy and energy efficiency?
Activities undertaken include:

• Solar totalling 1,277 kW
• LED lights across all buildings
• Heat recovery systems reducing the load requirement on AC units
• Building management system to manage and monitor the heating, ventilation and air conditioning across the College

Would you recommend Solar Schools to other schools (or organisations)? If so, what would you tell them about Solar Schools and, want them to get from the program?
We would certainly recommend Solar Schools to other schools and suggest that the program becomes a part of how they can more meaningfully engage students and further integrate environmental sustainability into the curriculum.  It should become a key component of how a school actions environmental sustainability in the classroom.

Every school has a unique story and we love to hear them! Please contact us via theteam@solarschools.net or follow the link below if you’d like to be featured in the future.