High school pupils from across the county put their site skills to the test at a recent ‘Construct at Preston’ event held by Preston’s College.
The schools, including Corpus Christi Catholic High School years 9 and 10, Ashton Community Science College year 10, Lostock Hall Academy year 9 and Longridge High School year 10, went head to head in a number of interactive challenges that linked to different trades in the construction industry.
The teams competed for the fastest finishing time across all the tasks, which included ‘Knock the Nail in’ with Carpentry & Joinery, ‘The Five Brick Challenge’ with Brickwork, ‘Hanging Around’ with Painting & Decorating, ‘Skim Finish’ with Plastering and other challenges with Plumbing and Professional Construction.
The competition provided pupils with a fantastic opportunity to learn about different trades and careers within the construction industry. The challenges acted as a tool to introduce young people to the industry by teaching them various tricks of the trades through a practical, hands-on experience.
Keith Molloy, enterprise manager at South Ribble Borough Council, said: “The competition demonstrates to pupils various opportunities available in the local area in a range of construction trades.
“It’s a fantastic way to make pupils the most employable by presenting them with an array of different challenges and tasks related to construction trades, to allow them to learn valuable skills.”
Corpus Christi’s Year 10 team came out on top, with Ashton Community Science College taking second spot and Longridge High School third.
Gary Wood, head of design technology at Corpus Christi Catholic High School, added: “It was a fantastic day out and pupils learnt a lot from it; they can’t wait to come back next year and defend their title.
“The tasks and activities were very well planned and gave our pupils the opportunity to experience a variety of different trade disciplines.”
Mark Taylor, head of school for Construction & the Built Environment at Preston’s College, concluded: “The event was aimed at introducing young people into the construction industry by providing experience of various professional and trade pathways available.
“The event welcomed six secondary schools from central Lancashire and saw learners compete in skills tasks from across our curriculum. At Preston’s College, we are passionate about ensuring that we can supply the construction industry with a strong pipeline of future talent.
“I would like to thank all the schools who participated, the Central Lancashire Construction Hub, who coordinated the event in partnership with the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and all three local authorities in central Lancashire, who are proactive in the support and delivery of construction training across the county.”
Preston’s College offers construction courses ranging from Level 1 to HNC level, with full access to our real working environments, which aim to equip learners with industry skills and experience.
