Press Release

As the National Construction week gets underway, BAA Communities Trust has given a further £10,000 donation to the Surrey Education Business Partnership to fund the provision of a mobile construction classroom for eight schools in the county.

The mobile construction classroom is an initiative designed to provide Year 10 and Year 11 students, (aged 14 plus), who are studying for an Edexcel National Award in construction, ‘hands on’ training. Over the next 37 weeks, the classroom will be utilised by eight schools: Stafford College, Oakwood School, Reigate School, St Bede’s School, The Beacon School, The Warwick School, Warlington School and Oxted School, with training provided by a specialised and dedicated construction tutor.

The students will learn practical skills in areas such as brickwork, health and safety, electrics, plumbing, project management and basic construction. Students who were initially interested in the course went through a rigorous interviewing and selection process before 100 students were finally selected for this year’s course. Many students will typically go on to study a national diploma in construction at East Surrey College, Central Sussex Colleges, or receive priority attention from employers looking for apprentices.

This is the third year Gatwick has secured the funding of the project through BAA Communities Trust. The classroom has also gained the support of Waites of Leatherhead and has the backing of The Construction Industry Trust for Youth, a national body which aims to increase access by young people to construction training and skills opportunities.

BAA Gatwick’s Communications Director, David Stretch said: “ BAA Gatwick is committed to the development of construction skills in local young people, especially at a time when there are so many different and exciting possibilities available in the modern construction industry for those with the skills and abilities to meet those demands. We are pleased to be supporting the scheme for the third year and to build on the success of the last two years of funding, where many students have successfully gone on to further vocational study in construction or to apprenticeship schemes.

“Opportunities at Gatwick Airport alone are considerable over the next ten years and it is a great place to work, with a planned investment of around £850 million to deliver a range of projects to support future traffic growth coupled with a continual drive to improve service quality and facilities including construction projects.

“The launch of this year’s mobile construction classroom is particularly timely in light of it being National Construction Week and we are delighted to be able to contribute towards its objectives of inspiring young people to consider careers in construction.”

Deputy Head Teacher of Oakwood School, Mrs Stephanie White said: “The mobile construction classroom has been an outstanding success for the students at Oakwood. They are highly motivated by this project and enjoy both the practical ‘hands on’ approach as well as the further study associated with the course. Several students have volunteered to do extra hours supporting the school using the skills which they have learnt through the mobile construction classroom.”