Bognor pupils part of a world first

Southway Primary School footballers competed in the English leg of the worldwide tournament, run by the English Schools Football Association

Footballers from Southway Primary School turned their water bottles into football tournament medals on the spot at Sporting Thamesmead, during the English leg of the world ESFA Danone Nations Cup.

The children, aged ten to 12, even beat the Tokyo Olympics to the punch, as the Games’ committee announced last month their 2020 medals will be made from old mobile phones.

Marie Wendling, events manager, said: “Not only did we celebrate the best footballing talent from the south east but Southway Primary School also took part in a world first for recycling.

“We hope this will inspire the children, teach them about the importance of recycling and help bring about a change in behaviour when they next throw away their plastic bottles.”

The recycling process consisted of recycling water bottles, crushing them and heating the small pieces of plastic to create a viscous, formable mass.

A tailor-made mould was then used to form medals, which were given to the children for taking part.