Preston pupils get timely lesson in construction thanks to £60m student building

A time capsule designed by students at a Preston high school has been planted in the foundations of the University of Central Lancashire’s new £60m Student Centre.
By Tim Gavell
Published 28th Sep 2020, 12:30 BST
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Pupils from Our Lady’s Catholic High School in Fulwood designed drawings and articles to be included in the time capsule as part of a careers week conducted by main contractor Bowmer and Kirkland earlier in the year.

And as construction continues, the capsule was placed on-site by teachers and the building contractors.

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The Year 7 pupils from the school included drawings, pieces of writing and newspaper articles in the capsule, along with details of the plans for the University’s £200m Masterplan development.

Ian Roberts, Project Manager, Bowmer + Kirkland, Shaheen Gul, Enterprise Coordinator, Lancashire Hub, Bob Turner, Senior Capital Projects Manager, Aidan Nelson, Assistant Headteacher and Careers Leader at Our Lady’s Catholic High School and Phoebe Dennis, CSR Coordinator, Bowmer + Kirkland, outside the new Student Centre with the time capsule.Ian Roberts, Project Manager, Bowmer + Kirkland, Shaheen Gul, Enterprise Coordinator, Lancashire Hub, Bob Turner, Senior Capital Projects Manager, Aidan Nelson, Assistant Headteacher and Careers Leader at Our Lady’s Catholic High School and Phoebe Dennis, CSR Coordinator, Bowmer + Kirkland, outside the new Student Centre with the time capsule.
Ian Roberts, Project Manager, Bowmer + Kirkland, Shaheen Gul, Enterprise Coordinator, Lancashire Hub, Bob Turner, Senior Capital Projects Manager, Aidan Nelson, Assistant Headteacher and Careers Leader at Our Lady’s Catholic High School and Phoebe Dennis, CSR Coordinator, Bowmer + Kirkland, outside the new Student Centre with the time capsule.

Phoebe Dennis at Bowmer and Kirkland, said: “Working with Our Lady’s Catholic High School through the Lancashire Hub has allowed Bowmer and Kirkland to engage with the students in a meaningful way through supporting and facilitating careers activities and helping the school achieve The 8 Gatsby Benchmarks.

“We are pleased the time capsule will be a lasting legacy for our engagement with young people, and hope that the Our Lady’s Catholic High School students are excited to revisit the UCLan Student Centre in future to unveil it.”

Pupils from throughout the school took part in the careers week, with Year 8 students designing careers postcards to be installed around the hoardings of the Masterplan site, while older pupils learnt how graphic design programmes such as Building Information Modelling are used in construction.

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The week of activity was designed to get more children to think about studying construction as a future career, explaining the variety of jobs available in the industry and breaking down some myths about who can find work in the sector.

The time capsule and some of the work done by pupils at Our Lady's Catholic High School in Fulwood Preston to be placed in the new Student Centre building at UCLanThe time capsule and some of the work done by pupils at Our Lady's Catholic High School in Fulwood Preston to be placed in the new Student Centre building at UCLan
The time capsule and some of the work done by pupils at Our Lady's Catholic High School in Fulwood Preston to be placed in the new Student Centre building at UCLan

Aidan Nelson, assistant headteacher said: “Not only have our pupils been able to get hands on and learn more about the hugely varied careers associated with construction, but hopefully meeting with employers and employees will help inspire some to think about potential careers in the construction industry.”

Michael Ahern, UCLan’s chief information and infrastructure officer, said: “In addition to building a world class facility on our Preston Campus, we have also been extremely keen to work with our main contractors to help improve our local communities.

"We have asked our contractors to use local companies and hire local labour, while their events in the community have helped to get local students thinking about future careers in construction, surveying and architecture.”

Related topics:PrestonFulwood