Partner Article

Bedlington school in sandcastle success

Construction specialist Galliford Try has been involved in a very different building project after teaming up with a Bedlington First school to support the Sandcastle Challenge.

Representatives from the company worked with year three pupils and teaching staff from the West End First School to create the four apostles in sand on Sandhaven beach in South Shields in an event organised by children’s charity Children North East.

They joined over 1,900 school children and 126 individuals from partner organisations to construct Lindisfarne Gospel themed creations with a winner being selected by a team of 25 Judges - headed up by actor Tim Healy.

The hard work paid off, as a team entered by the school was chosen as one of the five winners on the day for their sand sculpture of the apostle John.

Jonathan Smith, a teacher at the Bedlington School said: “Being involved in the Sandcastle Challenge provides the children with a fantastic opportunity to work closely with a partner company on a big project. The children loved meeting members of the Galliford Try team and were able to discover the huge range of opportunities available in the construction industry.

“The children were delighted to be chosen as one of the winning teams, as they had worked incredibly hard in the classroom on their designs and they learned a lot about the Lindisfarne Gospels in the process.”

Carol Taylor, Senior Fundraiser at Children North East said: “The very first Sandcastle Challenge was held in 1994 and was originally a small event for a small number of construction professionals. A few schools joined in the following year and from then it has grown to where we are today – the biggest sandcastle event in the region if not the UK!

“Everyone taking part in this event have worked together to support Children North East - the region’s oldest independent children’s charity founded on the banks of the Tyne in 1891. The funds raised and the awareness created by the interest in this fun event will help us support disadvantaged children and families in our region.”

Debra Phillips, HR advisor at Galliford Try Partnerships North added: “It was great to be involved in this year’s Sandcastle Challenge and we are delighted that the children had such a good day at the beach.

“They worked really hard on their designs and were full of ideas when we visited the school prior to the event. Initiatives like this provide a great opportunity for companies to get closer to the communities in which they work. I think we had as much fun as the children and I think they can be very proud of what they achieved.”

Galliford Try is building new homes at Hodgson’s Road and the former Tynedale Middle school site in Blyth.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .