BEE Interiors Limited – helping pupils get hands on as construction site visit brings learning to life
BEE Interiors Limited – helping pupils get hands on as construction site visit brings learning to life
School pupils have been getting their hands dirty at a behind-the-scenes tour of the latest Wykeland building under construction at the fast-growing Bridgehead business park.
Pupils and teachers from All Saints Junior School in Hessle and Hessle High School visited the nearby construction project on a tour organised by the developer of the Bridgehead site, Hull-based regeneration company Wykeland Group, in partnership with local contractor PDR Construction.
The school groups were given a fascinating insight into work on a new headquarters for Centrica Storage, the UK’s leading gas storage business. Centrica Storage is moving its operational support base from Hedon, East Yorkshire, to the purpose-built new offices.
Twenty six pupils, aged 9-10, from All Saints attended the latest visit, along with 13 students, aged 14-15, from Hessle High who are studying engineering among their options. The students enjoyed a lively series of talks and practical demonstrations as well as the opportunity to meet a wide range of construction trades people and professionals as they toured the site.
With the guidance of BEE Interiors expertly trained plasterers, pupils and teachers donned plastic aprons and tried their hands at a spot of plastering under the watchful eye of Craig Ham, BEE Interiors Operations Manager. This was an informative and enjoyable experience for all involved.
Having supplied and installed the exterior Steel Frame Systems (SFS), internal partitions and suspended ceilings for this project, the team at BEE Interiors were delighted to be involved with such a worthwhile learning opportunity.
David Donkin, Wykeland’s Property Director, said: “These site visits continue to strengthen Wykeland’s relationship with local schools and are a great way to showcase the wide range of career options available to young people within the property development, construction and engineering sectors.
“The students meet everyone from architects and bricklayers to electricians and engineers, so they get an all-round picture of the range of skills and careers involved in developments such as this.
“We find they love to get hands-on and learn about all the different roles involved in construction projects and they really enjoyed trying their hand at plastering during this visit.”
Elaine Burke, Wykeland’s arts consultant, who co-ordinates and manages the site visits, said: “Wykeland’s site visits are extremely popular with the schools who take part. The students get totally engrossed in conversations with many different construction professionals.
“The visits are lively, creative and hands-on. Pupils get to use measuring equipment, try out bricklaying, plastering and other skills – they love getting stuck in.
“Back at school, the visits help to animate the curriculum – making maths, geography, English and other subjects come alive.”
Centrica’s new 20,000 sq ft, two-storey offices will offer state-of-the-art accommodation for up to 200 people and take the total employed at Bridgehead, one of the UK’s greenest business parks, to almost 800 across the eight businesses based there.
Ultimately, over 2,000 people will work at Bridgehead, which was developed with input from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to enable commerce and the environment to co-exist harmoniously.
Thank you Jerome Whittingham for capturing this event on camera – www.jerome.photoshelter.com
