Students wowed by Speller Metcalfe school project

National building contractor Speller Metcalfe were delighted to host local students during a recent tour of a new sports and education facility the firm has been building at Winchcombe School in Gloucestershire.

The Launchpad learners, studying the Level 2 Higher Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment, viewed many aspects of the construction of the new build, due for completion in May. Work at the site commenced in late 2010 with the building of a new combined sports and education suite including changing and shower rooms, administration office, classrooms and a dance and drama studio. The emphasis for the use of both the new sports hub and all weather sports pitch is that they are used both by the school and by the wider community.

Speller Metcalfe spokesman, Andy Metcalfe stated: “We have had excellent relations with the Gloucestershire College for many years, in the form of supervised site visits for students and the release of our professional staff to go into the college to give “Flavour of the Industry” seminars.

“Inspiration for this tour was to break the mould and bring the students in to a real live site to meet professionals and to learn about key areas and the requirements of today’s modern construction industry.”

On the visit the students experienced the site in the transition from masonry walls through to roof carcass construction and had the chance to review the construction techniques being used whilst getting firsthand insight in to issues of site constraints and the need for careful planning of sequence of operations, in the modern building environment. The students also completed a number of tasks that were organised by Speller Metcalfe’s Health and Safety Manager Norman Davies and Site Manager Mark Taylor, including a full induction to the site, a tour of the building, a closer inspection of the materials used for construction and a ‘live’ site health and safety review.

Andy Metcalfe went on to say: “We hope the students saw the enthusiasm and real challenges of the industry. From our point of view, it was a good exercise to look at activities from their perspective. Quite refreshing to gain the feedback from the students and rewarding when there were constructive comments.”

The site drew much praise from students and teaching staff alike, with Samuel Galeckyi, one of the visiting students saying: “The visit was very productive and there was a lot more things to do on site than I thought and I may consider applying for work experience for year 11. Speller Metcalfe is a local business, they are good at their jobs and there is a lot to learn on a visit to one of their projects.”

Issued: 23/03/2011