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March 2010

Local GCSE construction students receive ‘on the job’ training

Year 10 GCSE construction students from Jo Richardson Community School in Dagenham received invaluable development planning training using the Dagenham Heathway Library site as a live local case study. 

 

The morning was spent with 15 of the school’s students to assist with Unit 2 of the construction GCSE that focuses on The Built Environment. Bouygues UK helped the school to set up the GCSE which has been offered since 2005 and has since continued to provide students with a selection of local site visits to assist in the subject.

 

Unit 2 of the construction GCSE requires students to complete a case study report and exam on a specific development of their choice, worth 20% of the overall grade. Jo Richardson School has nominated Dagenham Heathway Library as its chosen case study, being a significant local development that incorporates a library, a One Stop Shop, a retail unit and associated housing.

 

Bouygues UK site manager Andrew Moody took the students through how the project should be managed to fulfil the assessment criteria for the case study GCSE Unit which requires students to consider all the different aspects of this kind of town centre development as if they were a member of the team working on the project; from the building’s design, site management and economic implications to the impact of the scheme on the local community and environment.

 

The students were then taken on a tour of the site to witness the construction process first hand, with a particular focus on the techniques employed at this stage of the project’s development.

 

 

Teaching the construction GCSE at Jo Richardson Community School is Head of Design Technology Donna Murfin, who said of the event:

 

“Having such a substantial live case study so close to the school is an enormous benefit and really helps the pupils engage with the subject. And, because they are part of the community that will benefit from the library scheme, they are really able to identify with all the different planning considerations a scheme like this entails.

 

“Bouygues UK has been supporting our construction GCSE students for the last two years so the students have had a great opportunity to witness the different stages of several local developments. I think they’ve been surprised by the size of the teams and the speed at which the work progresses.”

 

Dominique Lambrecht, Operations Director for Education and Housing at Bouygues UK, led the company’s £47 million PFI transformation of Jo Richardson Community School and Eastbury Comprehensive School in Dagenham and has been working closely with Jo Richardson to help set up and support the construction GCSE which has been offered by the school since 2005. Speaking of Thursday’s event he said:

 

“The planning involved for a scheme like Dagenham library is far more complex than most people realise and involves a huge number of people with diverse specialist skills. Its proximity to the school and the scope of work involved makes it an ideal case study for Jo Richardson’s GCSE students – not only in illustrating all the considerations involved in a scheme like this but in showcasing the enormous range of different job opportunities available in construction.”