Child’s eye view of new college wing helps pupils learn important site safety lessons

Youngsters from a Haverfordwest school got a sneak preview of the new Advanced Learning Centre under construction at Pembrokeshire College, which helped bring home to them the potential safety hazards around building sites.

We are building the state of the art new facility, with Mary Immaculate RC Primary being its near neighbours, in Merlin’s Terrace.

As a company, we carry out a regular education programme with schools near our sites, to help children understand the risks and how to avoid them, so we were pleased to invite the Year 4 pupils along.

As part of the visit, Morganstone’s Community Engagement Manager, Antonia John, and Project Manager Andrew Davies, gave an informal presentation to the children.

And to help share the message, Honor Goodsite, the new Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) mascot, was on hand to entertain the youngsters.

The pupils were also asked to submit some artwork on a site safety theme, which we will enlarge and turn into eye-catching hoardings, to be placed around the Pembrokeshire College site.

Antonia John said: “It is always enjoyable to meet young people in the areas we work in and to share important messages around construction site safety – we are a Welsh company and being a part of the local communities we serve here is something we are committed to.

“The children were very enthusiastic about seeing the construction site in action – from the safety of the Pembrokeshire College Academy Restaurant. I think being so close to a working site really helped illustrate some of the risks.

“I look forward to seeing their artworks, as we find that encouraging children to draw some of the important elements of site safety helps to embed those messages in their minds.

The Marketing Manager at Pembrokeshire College, Charlie Royal, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the pupils to the college – particularly since some of them will, I’m sure, be studying with us in the future.

“The site visit was an enjoyable way to make sure the wider community engages with our exciting regeneration and we would like to thank the Mary Immaculate RC Primary youngsters for being so enthusiastic about their time with us.”

Year 4 teacher from Mary Immaculate RC Primary, James Oulton, said: “I would like to thank Morganstone and Pembrokeshire College for inviting the children along and for showing such an interest in their safety. I know our young people were really engaged by the visit, which gave them much food for thought.”

The construction project at Pembrokeshire College sees new classroom and laboratory teaching spaces being created, as well as self-study areas, an  ICT suite, treatment and hair salons, a fitness suite and a 500 sqm sports hall.