Foundations in place for future skills

Published 29 Mar 2010 14:08 0 Comments

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A FIRST of its kind pupil-led project at Peebles High has passed with top marks.

Over the past year, students have designed, priced and built a house in the grounds of the school.

And last Friday (March 19), the £220,000 building which will be used to house a new craft, design and technology classroom was opened by Muir Group chairman, John Muir, who taught Craft & Design to current PHS Rector, John Brown, at Waid Academy in Anstruther over 40 years ago.

Muir Homes donated the design drawings, timber kit frames and roof trusses used to build the 114 square metre training centre and also supplied the labour to carry out its construction.

The classroom designed with course needs in mind, will now also provide local vocational training in construction trades.

Entitled, Peebles High School: Building Skills Group, the project is part of the Scottish Government's recent Skills for Work initiative which encourages students not only to learn valuable vocational skills but to experience the challenges of the construction industry firsthand.

The proposal was initially conceived three years ago as a remedy to the lack of vocational training facilities in the Tweeddale area which resulted in pupils having to travel for up to 45 minutes to Borders College in Galashiels.

With the opening of the training centre pupils can now learn plumbing, painting, roofing and slating; carpentry, brick laying and electrical skills, here in Peebles.

Peebles High School Rector John Brown, said: "As well as assisting these pupils with leadership and enterprise skills over the past three years, the Construction Crafts Training Centre will now have dual purposes.

"It will be used to provide apprenticeships throughout the Tweed Valley and here in the school it will be used by our pupils taking the Skills for Work: Construction Crafts course in future years.

"I am enormously proud of my students and would like to thank them for all their hard work in this unique and cutting edge project.

"I also wish to thank the Muir Group for its generosity and all the other people in the community and at Borders Council who have made donations to us. I look forward to the Construction Crafts Training Centre having a long and useful life."

Muir Group Chairman, John Muir, echoed this. He said: "I am absolutely delighted to officially open this invaluable and unique Construction Crafts Centre here in the grounds of Peebles High School.

"This project has given the many young people involved the chance to grasp the realities of the building industry from conception through to planning to actual building.

"They have learned to engage with a community; to present their ideas to local planning officers in the best way and to see a tough but ultimately rewarding challenge through to conclusion. And they have not finished at that - they have concluded the project by organising this official opening ceremony today.

"With many other areas of the school contributing to the success of this opening event, it is yet another example of what teamwork and community spirit can achieve."

Since 2007 several groups of sixth year students at Peebles High have been involved in the venture as part of the sixth year Student Leadership Initiative (SLI) project, a scheme offered to all sixth year students to encourage leadership and responsibility.

Key roles in the opening ceremony were fulfilled by both current and previous students.

Deputy Head Boy, Stephen Rutherford, outlined the project's history, before brief speeches by Declan Wilson and Philip Carter, two former pupils who were involved in the first stages of planning and construction of the Centre.

The event culminated when John Muir officially opened the centre, by fittingly using two hammers to cut the ribbon.

This symbolic gesture was accompanied by a special fanfare written and performed by the Peebles High School music department.

A specially commissioned name plaque, designed and constructed by local artist and PHS teacher, Ellen McCann, was also unveiled.

Executive Member for Education Catriona Bhatia, was also in attendance.

She said: "I wish to congratulate Peebles High School as this type of innovation and enterprise is what the school has become renowned for. The educational benefits for pupils should come through vocational skills development and project management.

"We can see here that there are advantages in devolving decisions to individual head teachers within SBC schools as they are best placed to know how to develop the school's curriculum to meet the needs of pupils locally."

MSP Jeremy Purvis, said: "Practical work experience of this kind is invaluable, giving a new range of education and training skills. And who knows, perhaps it will inspire these young people to pursue careers in architecture, design, planning and building one day which is a real positive.

"I want to commend Peebles High School for this highly innovative project, and I am so impressed that the pupils are centre stage."

This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 26 Mar 10

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