- Over 2,000 pupils and teachers from primary schools across the UK entered the competition through its NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank brands.
- The Climate Savers Top Trumps were on display to delegates and world leaders throughout COP26 in Glasgow.
- COP Principal Partner NatWest also awarded nearly £30,000 to three schools to fund new green projects.
The Royal Bank of Scotland tasked Scottish primary school pupils with designing an exclusive set of the iconic playing cards promoting sustainable behaviours.
Across the UK through its NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank brands, the competition received over 2,000 entries. The 26 winning designs, showing the everyday actions young people can take to combat climate change, were featured in an exclusive Top Trumps deck for COP26.
The Climate Savers Top Trumps were on display to delegates and world leaders throughout COP26 in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November, for which the bank was a principal partner.
One of the winners was Flora Stevenson Primary School pupil Honor, age 11, for her card design which suggested recycling old clothes. Honor was joined by the rest of her classmates at the Edinburgh primary school to play the iconic children’s game.
COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “The interest and engagement that NatWest’s climate competition for schools has generated shows how important this issue is to schoolchildren across the country.
“It has been a fun programme which has allowed everyone – pupils and teachers – to get involved and it will be exciting to see them bringing their ideas to life.
“Everyone can play their part by going one step greener and MoneySense Climate Savers Top Trumps is a great way to also make it a fun and creative process.”
Over 2000 entries to the competition were received in less than a month. The bank’s Chief Financial Officer Katie Murray was one of the competition’s judges, alongside TV presenter Ade Adepitan.
NatWest Group Chief Financial Officer Katie Murray, said: “COP26 is a once in a lifetime event and a great opportunity to get children to join the discussion on climate.
“This competition shows just how much young people want to get involved and make a difference – and what innovative ideas they have for doing that.
“We received an overwhelming number of entries and the quality of ideas and solutions impressed all the judges. It was hard to decide who should win. It was also brilliant to see the geographical diversity of the entries.
“Importantly, the competition has shown that, with the right mindset, the journey to a greener future can be fun and inspiring and I’d like to thank all those who took part.”
The competition also gave teachers the chance to win up to £15,000 to fund new green projects for their school. Bolton’s Thomasson Memorial School saw off competition from over 2,000 entrants to take home the top prize of £15,000 in the teachers’ competition.
Our Lady of the Missions Primary School in Glasgow and Brookfield Primary School in London have also been awarded £7,000 and £4,000 respectively.
Charlotte Siggers, the winning teacher at Thomasson Memorial School – a school for deaf children aged four to 16 – received widespread praise for her project, which will see the creation of an area within the school’s grounds where pupils will be given the opportunity to grow their own produce and be responsible for the upkeep of the land.
The campaign builds on the bank’s MoneySense programme, which, for more than two decades, has been teaching financial skills to young people. It follows the 2020 launch of the bank’s Island Saver game – a video game built for games consoles and mobiles themed around cleaning up a magical island, collecting litter and building money skills. The bank is principal partner of the climate summit.
To see the full list of winners visit www.mymoneysense.com