Buddy is school’s Blue Peter badge inspiration
LITTLE Buddy West is now the proud owner of a prestigious Blue Peter badge after mastering a new sport - and he’s set off a chain reaction in his school.
The Year 2 pupil at All Saint’s Primary School in Coventry is inspiring his schoolmates to go for their badges too.
For children across the nation, the Blue Peter badge is a highly coveted prize that recognises an individuals’ dedication to learning a new skill.
Buddy won his Blue Peter Badge for learning how to play rugby.
He now has ambitious plans to start a collection of them - and is helping classmates to do the same.
We meet inspirational Buddy... Buddy West has been called to his headteacher’s room - but for an exciting reason.
He has come to show us his Blue Peter Badge, and to fill us in on some important updates from his school community.
With the help of his parents and his school, he applied for a Blue Peter sports badge.
“I was really excited to apply for the sports badge,” he grinned.
Buddy’s mum Stevie added: “Buddy wanted to apply for his sports badge, and he had to try a new sport for it. He tried playing rugby and loved it, and is now a member of a local rugby team.
“Buddy loves Blue Peter and he loves badges, it was his idea. It was really exciting for him. Every time the postman came, he would ask if it was his badge in the post.”
Despite watching the post for 10 weeks, Buddy now has plans to apply for his music badge.
Buddy certainly doesn’t sit still, in addition to playing rugby, he is in a rock band, goes to Beavers and loves getting out and about.
Buddy’s efforts have inspired the rest of the school to apply for their Blue Peter badges.
Although he has got one for sport, as long as you try a new skill you can apply for a badge for it. In this case, more children are applying for the Blue Peter ecobadge.
Headteacher Mrs Page said: “It’s exciting for the children who want to apply themselves for the Blue Peter eco-badge. Each child is going to write a letter to Blue Peter about our eco-team.”
The school eco-team, which Buddy is also a part of, is a clever community initiative at All
Saints school, which has a representative from each child’s class to work on the school ecofriendly policy alongside school governors.
Their efforts have culminated in an eco friendly greenhouse, which they have built out of plastic bottles collected by the children and their families.
Headteacher Mrs Page said: “It has been a real community focus. Thousands of bottles have been collected by the children and their families, and our eco team have been brilliant.
“Children carry that message home of reuse, recycle, and rehome.”
The school had Jewson supplies as their local sponsor who provided the materials for the frame, and with the help of the allotment next door they built a wooden frame and furnished the walls and roof with the plastic bottles they had collected.
The greenhouse is a striking addition to the allotment site next to the school, and even has windows!
Buddy, along with the rest of the eco-team plan to use the greenhouse to grow tomatoes and vegetables in a bid to be more resourceful and less wasteful.
The school has an active community programme, which includes their junior police officer scheme which saw the children patrolling their local area, and even giving their parents parking tickets.
We went down to visit All Saints primary school in July, and it is great to see the progress the children have made since in their efforts to be more involved with issues affecting the community around them.
After seeing Buddy’s Blue Peter badge, Headteacher Cara Page says the children have now been given some time to write a letter to apply for their own.