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Construction experts help students to develop Wonder Towns

North East students have been discovering what it’s like to work in the construction sector by taking part in two interactive events alongside civil engineering professionals, as part of a competition to create a vision for their perfect town.

The Discovery Days, part of the ongoing Wonder Town Challenge, saw over 90 Year 9 pupils from across the region take part in a series of workshops hosted by representatives from across the North East’s construction sector, including challenge organisers the Owen Pugh Group and Pauline Vipond representing the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

The events took place on February 11 at The Northumberland Church of England Academy’s Josephine Butler campus in Ashington for competing schools in the north of the region and an equivalent event took place for schools in the south of the region at The Education Centre in Stockton on 13 February.

Students heard about different aspects of the industry and took place in workshops on subjects including architectural design and modelling. They also took part in a workshop about the varied technical and professional career opportunities available within the sector.

The Discovery Days were also an opportunity to consult with industry experts, who also included representatives from Gradon Architecture, Bernicia, Northumberland County Council and Niven Architects, on their Wonder Town projects.

The challenge, which is now in its tenth year and has taken a number of forms including Sporting Wonder and Wonder Crossing in recent years, involves school teams working together as mini construction companies to regenerate and build a Wonder Town for the North East, based on their own local town.

Fifteen year-old Erin Richardson-Hogg from The Northumberland Church of England Academy in Ashington took part in the first Discovery Day. Her team’s construction project is based around the transformation of the old Co-operative department store in Ashington into a function room.

She said: “I never realised how many different careers there were in construction. There’s definitely something for everyone.

“Things definitely seem to be changing in terms of the number of females in the industry in fact there are more females involved in the Wonder Town project at our school than there are males. We’re really enjoying our project and the Discovery Day has been really helpful, especially the architectural design workshop.”

The Owen Pugh Group delivers all aspects of civil engineering from five regional sites including its headquarters in Dudley.

Jan Elliott, CSR manager at Owen Pugh, said: “Owen Pugh is committed to working with local schools and colleges to help young people discover more about the variety of careers options on offer in construction and engineering.

“The Discovery Day, and the wider Wonder Town challenge, provide a valuable opportunity for students to work with industry experts and learn about different aspects of the industry first-hand.”

The Wonder Town challenge launched in November and since then competing teams have been busy developing their masterplans, taking into account transport systems and amenities and gauging the views of the local community through market research.

Teams have been assigned industry mentors to support them throughout the stages of the challenge, giving pupils the chance to work with a cross-section of sector experts. The event will culminate in a grand final in July.

Pauline Vipond, regional education coordinator for the Institution of Civil Engineers North East (ICE NE), said: “ICE has supported a variety of wonder challenges since 2006 and the competition has continued to inspire young people about the civil engineering profession.

“Many young people in the region will have seen their own towns and communities redeveloped and this challenge will provide the opportunity for them to look at everything involved in this process. We hope that this challenge, and the Discovery Day, will help to ignite the imagination of the young people taking part in this project and that they will go on to become the engineers of the future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Owen Pugh Group .