Publication Date: 28-05-2025 09:00
Primary school pupils learn about housebuilding with Bellway
Pupils at a primary school in Gloucester have been learning about sustainability, health and safety and housebuilding with a developer which is building new homes nearby.
Bellway has been working with Hunts Grove Primary Academy, which is just a 15-minute walk from its Blackthorn Walk development in Hunts Grove, to give pupils the opportunity to find out more about how homes are built.
This involved members of the Bellway team giving two presentations at the school this month – one about energy efficiency, biodiversity and sustainability with pupils from the school’s Eco Warriors group, and one about site safety in a school assembly – as well as hosting a visit for Year 6 pupils at Blackthorn Walk on Tuesday (20 May).Year 6 teacher Natalie Hoskins said: “It was very exciting for us and the Year 6 pupils to be able to walk from our school along to the Blackthorn Walk development.
“Understanding more about the local environment is important as it helps to give learning more relevance and connects them to the world around them. The visit to the site was very interesting and the children were fully engaged and asked lots of questions.
“It was great of Simon to meet with, chat to and present to our Eco Warriors at school before the tour at Blackthorn Walk. The children really enjoyed the session and were given plenty to think about and research.
“We would also like to thank Simon for taking time out of his busy schedule to give a presentation on site safety earlier in the month. There was a question-and-answer session and he found himself fielding a lot of interesting queries.
“It is lovely to have such a close working relationship with a business which is building homes and, as such, is part of the local community. This link-up is a chance to get the children thinking about career opportunities and gives them a better understanding of the housebuilding process, which we will be looking to connect to aspects of the curriculum.”
A total of 32 Year 6 pupils took part in the site visit to Blackthorn Walk. They were given hard hats and high-vis jackets before being given a guided tour of the site.
The visitors were able to see inside homes at various stages of construction on the site.
The visit followed the session with the Eco Warriors, a group of pupils from each year at the school which focuses on promoting eco-friendly messages.
Simon Hughes, Development Manager at Bellway, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the staff and pupils from Hunts Grove Primary Academy to Blackthorn Walk. The site team were pleased to be able to give the visitors an insight into exactly what we do at the development.
“We are very proud of our relationship with Hunts Grove Primary Academy, as part of our philosophy at Bellway is to engage with local organisations and play a meaningful role in the community. We are pleased to be able to support the children’s education with insights into housebuilding as well as wider issues such as energy efficiency, biodiversity and sustainability.”
For more information about the new homes Bellway is building at Blackthorn Walk, call the sales team on 01452 945875 or visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/wales/blackthorn-walk.
