Several Pembrokeshire primary schools recently took up the fantastic opportunity to construct a 14 metre long cable-stayed bridge that resembles the very striking second Severn Bridge crossing that allows easy passage with south Wales and southern England.
Pupils from St. Aidans, Pride, Bro Ingli, Hakin, Prendergast, Broad Haven, Ger y Llan, Haverfordwest, Manorbier and Glan Cleddau schools attended the new £3.1m construction centre at Pembrokeshire College to take part in the event.
The activity was developed to give a very practical insight into construction and the built environment for this age group. The bridge was provided by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the event delivered by ConstructionSkills with support from Careers Wales West.
The event started with a health and safety induction and allocation of jobs. Pupils then had to work in two teams to construct the bridge, including assembling the decking and attaching and tightening the cables. All pupils had to wear high-visibility vests, hard hats, safety gloves and goggles to get a feel of being on a real construction site.
During each session, pupils were also assisted by construction ambassadors: representatives of the industry who kindly give their time to be trained through ConstructionSkills to work with schools.
"Pupils thoroughly enjoyed their experience during the day," commented ConstructionSkills education adviser Alison Howe.
"They had a chance see the college where construction courses are run locally, meet people from the construction industry and walk over their completed bridge at the end of their session - after sending a teacher over to test it first, of course.
"All in all, the three days were a complete success and we're sure the pupils will remember it for a long time to come!"
For more information about what it takes to have a career in construction go to http://www.cskills.org">www.cskills.org or http://www.pembs.ac.uk/construction">www.pembs.ac.uk/construction.