An MP visited a school to read from a new children’s book about plastic pollution written by a famous musician.

On Friday July 8 the MP for North Oxfordshire, Victoria Prentis, visited King’s Meadow Primary School alongside Bicester business BRITA to read from The Whale Watchers, a book about fighting plastic pollution written by children’s author and McFly bassist Dougie Poynter with support from BRITA and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

The book, aimed at key stage 2 pupils, follows the story of Finn, who ends up on a rescue mission to save a whale who has become entangled in plastic.

Author and BRITA ambassador Dougie Poynter said: “The character of Finn is one I really relate to as Finn gets quite down about the plastic pollution problem, which I do too and need a little picking up every now and again like he does.

“I wrote this book because I really wanted to create a fictional story with facts that the reader could absorb, learn and carry with them into the rest of their lives.”

Read more: Huge field fire nearly destroys crop fields near Bicester

Ms Prentis, who is also Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food, also spoke to the pupils about the importance of protecting our environment, and her role in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

She said: “I was delighted to visit King’s Meadow Primary School in Bicester to read the year 5 pupils a chapter of the Whale Watchers.

“It was great to see the pupils so engaged with the book and the importance of protecting the environment against plastic pollution, which can have such an impact on marine wildlife.

“We continue to see real progress in the fight against plastic waste.

“In 2020, my department introduced restrictions on the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers and plastic stemmed cotton buds.

“Going further, our landmark Environment Act introduced a raft of new powers and targets for reducing plastic pollution, and will change the way we think about litter and recycling in a fundamental way.

King’s Meadow Primary’s Deputy Head Michala Ward said: “We were proud to welcome Victoria Prentis to King’s Meadow Primary and have her read from The Whale Watchers.

“At King’s Meadow Primary we’re passionate about educating our pupils about the importance of protecting our environment, and teaching them how what they do has an impact on the wider world.

“Next year our school development plan is all about being more eco friendly and obtaining the Eco-schools Green Flag Award.”

BRITA is inviting schools up-and-down the country to take part in an exciting competition to win £3,000 to spend on a sustainability initiative of their choice, based on an area they are focused on improving within their school.

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.