Students at The Stephen Longfellow Academy were given an amazing opportunity to visit the construction site of the new Leeds Mathematics school. The aim of the visit was to inspire students about the variety of careers in the Construction industry and gain a site experience.
Students from Years 9 & Year 10 attended the visit. On arrival students were checked in and entered the site office. First, they were given short presentation about the different stages of the project by Dan Marsh (Project Manager). Students were then given a health and safety brief about site risks and then wore Personnel Protective Equipment before entering the working areas.
Students then had a 40-minute tour of the building site by Morgan Sindall staff, explaining in detail the different works on going and meeting different tradesmen along the tour. Throughout the tour, students asked a variety of questions and were engaged. Students learned that in just one room, twenty different construction careers had been involved to get it to its current stage.
On return to the site office, students were introduced to several site staff who discussed their roles. This included a Project Manager, Quantity Surveyor, Site Manager, Electrical Engineer, and a Plumber. Students were given the opportunity to ask any further questions.
Student feedback about the visit was very positive. From the mini survey undertaken, the majority of students said they had learned about new construction roles in ground workers, site labourers, quantity surveyors, structural engineers, facilities manager & site gatekeeper, as well more well-known trades. All students said the visit had inspired them to work in Construction and would recommend the visit to others. One student said the visit would have been even better if they could have tried one of the jobs.
Feedback from Morgan Sindall staff about the students was also very positive.
“It was great to have the group on site and show them around, the behaviour was great on the walkaround and during the talks they really paid attention to our speakers. The students were really engaged, showing interest, and asking lots of good questions, we hope they enjoyed their time on site.”
Fin Atack (Site Manager)
The school will continue to develop its relationships with Morgan Sindall to support its Career Programme and inspire our students.
Raj Gill (Careers Officer)