The Construction combined schools group, which consist of school pupils that come to Coleg Powys Newtown one day a week to study construction as part of the futures programme, have produced seven picnic benches for Llanidloes High School.

The project was initiated from a governors meeting at Llanidloes High School.   They wanted to put some picnic benches on their school grounds and David Jones, who is a governor but also works at the College, suggested that Coleg Powys might be able to do this.

Llanidloes High School paid for the materials and the group made the picnic benches as part of their BTEC Diploma in Construction course, under the guidance of the Construction lecturers.

The pupils that were involved in the project were from Llanidloes High School, Bro Ddyfi High School and John Beddoes High School. 

Construction technician Dennis Buttery said: “All of the group participated and enjoyed working on the project.  The Llanidloes pupils are really looking forward to seeing their work on show in the school grounds.”

The Powys futures programme enables 14-16 year olds across the county to study additional vocational subjects at Coleg Powys, including Construction, Hair & Beauty, Motor Vehicle and Business.

The Newtown site of Coleg Powys held a Girls Behaving Constructively event on Monday, where twenty year 8 girls (13 year olds) got to experience and learn about the construction industry.  The event was arranged by Coleg Powys and Construction Skills, formerly CITB, with the help of Dai Morris from Careers Wales.

The girls were from Llanidloes High School, Ysgol Bro Ddyfi and Newtown High School.

In the morning they had a practical session, which included ‘hands on’ Carpentry and Brickwork.  The session was run by Coleg Powys Construction Lecturers George Stewart and Dennis Buttery.  AM Joyce Watson also attended this session.

The pupils had an opportunity to meet women working in the Construction industry, including Emma Watson from Wilmott Dixon, a representative from SJ Roberts and four people from Enterprise.  They were also given an introduction into the Technical and Professional Careers that are available in this industry.

The activity in the afternoon was The Building Game, organised by Dyfed Wyn Jones and Gareth Jones who are both from Education Cskills.  The game looked at some of the people involved in construction and how they work together as a team to complete a building job successfully.

Carpentry Lecturer George Stewart said: “The girls enjoyed their day learning about opportunities in the construction industry and we enjoyed having them here.”

Students on the Construction course at Coleg Powys Newtown were given a tour around the new Tesco’s site in Newtown.  The Construction Skills Training Officer and the College Carpentry department organised the visit with ISG Pearce Construction.

First and third year students were provided with a very enjoyable and informative visit.  Site Manager Mr Mark Dent showed them around and provided some insight into what it is like to work on a construction site.  He emphasised the importance of good planning, high health and safety standards and good teamwork.

Construction Technician Dennis Buttery said “The visit to the new Tesco’s site was very beneficial to the students and provided them with a valuable insight into the construction industry, whilst helping with their development.  It is very rare to have a large construction site in this area.”