Green Schools
2024
Application forms for 2023/2024 Academic Year
All schools beginning an application form must use our online application forms on Submit.com
If you are due to complete an application for the Green Flag Award this academic year, please use our forms on Submit.com to begin working on your application.
Deadline information
- Schools applying for their first Green Flag, Litter & Waste theme, must submit an application by Friday, December 8th, 2023.
- The deadline for renewal applications is on Friday, March 15th, 2024 for the 2023/2024 academic year.
Please contact us with any queries.
The first step to taking part in the Green-Schools programme for the first time is to register with us using the form below. Following this you will be sent all the information you need to begin working on the first theme: Litter & Waste. Registration can take place at any time of year.
After working on this theme for a minimum of one full school year schools can then apply for the Green Flag award. The deadline for schools applying for this award for the 2022/2023 academic year is Friday, December 8th, 2023.
- If you have already received a Green Flag award you are registered with Green-Schools and do not need to re-register.
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If you do not know if your school is registered with Green-Schools please contact us to check.
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Registration Form for Green-Schools
Following the award of your school’s first Green Flag, each subsequent application is a “Renewal”, so-called as you are “renewing” your Green Flag award under a new theme. Schools must submit renewal applications every two years.
The application forms for all renewal schools are available at https://greenschools.submit.com/.
Schools applying for their renewal Green Flags (Energy, Water, Travel, Biodiversity and the Global Citizenship themes) must first complete an assessment visit from a Green-Schools officer or Environment Awareness Officer before submitting their renewal application. The deadline for renewal applications is on Friday, March 15th, 2024 for the 2022/2023 academic year. Schools applying for their first Green Flag, Litter & Waste theme, must submit an application by Friday, December 8th, 2023.
What is a “renewal visit”?
A renewal visit takes places during the second year of your Green-Schools programme. Typically, the visit is completed before you submit your renewal application form. Renewal visits are carried out either by your Local Authority Environment Awareness Officer or by Green-Schools staff. The purpose of the visit is so that Green-Schools can see you have an active Green-Schools programme in operation and that you have been maintaining previous themes in addition to working on your current theme. You do not need to have completed every step before the renewal visit, however this will need to be achieved prior to submitting your application. During the visit you will have the opportunity to show the assessor documentation such as folders, newsletters, posters, photos etc of your work and achievements over the past two years. To arrange your renewal visit please contact your local authority’s Environment Awareness Officer or Green-Schools.
Marine Creative Writing Competition 2024
The Green-Schools National Marine Creative Writing Competition 2024 is now open for entries!
This is the fourth year of this inspiring competition, and Green-Schools Marine Officers can’t wait to see what wonderful stories are submitted this year.
For this year’s theme we have taken inspiration from World Ocean Day 2023 Planet Ocean: Tides are changing. “Earth is the only known planet covered by water yet somehow it is named for its land”, the ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface, and is over 10,000 metres deep – yet over 80% of the ocean remains unexplored. We rely on the ocean for so much, yet we are only now starting to give them attention and resources to protect them, the “Tides are changing”. People are working together to raise awareness of the vital importance of our oceans and the role they play in sustaining a healthy planet.
What does the “tides are changing”, mean to you? How are people working together to help the ocean? Can you describe the new wave of excitement towards protecting the ocean and the entirety of our blue planet? Use your imagination and tell us a story about how the tides are changing – use the information above to inspire you or come up with your own interpretation altogether!
Competition
The aim of the competition is for individual students to create an original piece of creative writing inspired by the theme “Tides are changing”. The piece may take the form of either a short story or a poem and must be no more than 500 words in length.
Eligibility
The competition is open to primary and secondary schools that are registered Green-Schools currently working on, or previously awarded for, the Global Citizenship: Marine Environment theme. Entries must adhere to the Terms and Conditions and be submitted by the deadline of midnight, Friday, 15th March, 2024.
Categories
There are three categories for entry:
- Primary School – 1st & 2nd class
- Primary School – 3rd & 4th class
- Primary School – 5th & 6th class
- Secondary School (all year groups)
Entries from Special Schools are strongly encouraged. Special School entries may be entered into whichever age category is deemed most appropriate by the student’s teacher.
Prizes
There will be one overall national winner for each age category: each 1st place winner will receive a trophy, €100 book token, a whale or dolphin adoption from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and a writing workshop for their class from Poetry Ireland. 2nd place winners will receive a trophy and a €75 book token; 3rd place winners will receive a trophy and a €50 book token. All winners will receive a printed booklet anthology including their winning entry. Equivalent prizes may be offered subject to availability.
How to enter
Before entering, please read the full Terms & Conditions, which can be downloaded through the link below. Entries may be typed or handwritten but must be submitted through the official online entry form:
Water Poster & Video Competition 2024
We are pleased to invite eligible schools (*) around Ireland to take part in the Green-Schools Uisce Éireann Poster & Video Competition 2024.
This is the 10th year of this competition for schools and there are some great prizes to be won! The deadline for entries is Friday, 8th March 2024.
The theme of the competition is Water for Peace. This is the theme that the United Nations have chosen to mark World Water Day on March 22nd 2024. We have put together a fact sheet with information about this topic to help inspire students as they design their posters and storyboard their videos; you can also download the factsheet from the link below. Each year the Green-Schools Water team are blown away by the creativity and talent of the entrants – and we can’t wait to see what you come up with this year!
(*) Primary and Secondary schools that have been awarded the Green Flag for Water or are currently working on the Water theme are eligible to enter the poster competition. Please note: The Video Competition is open to secondary schools (same eligibility criteria) only.
Poster Competition
The aim of the poster competition is for individual students to design an A3 poster which best illustrates the theme: Water for Peace. The poster can be a combination of words and illustrations or just illustrations.
Posters must have the personal details of the student on the reverse side of the poster (see Terms & Conditions overleaf linked below). 12 regional winners will win a €250 Art & Hobby voucher and 3 national winners will receive €500 for their school.
Share your ideas!
Don’t forget to share your school’s poster ideas and inspiration with @GreenSchoolsIre and @IrishWater using #Water4Peace on social media.
If you have any questions related to the competition, please email