Green homes get thumbs up from pupils

Children from Colebrook Junior School had all the ingredients for a unique lesson on the environment thanks to developers Redrow Homes. The youngsters were given an environmentally-friendly packed lunch to eat by Redrow while they learned about ‘green’ materials used to build homes in Swindon.

The 10 and 11-year-olds studied the open space and sustainable materials which are being incorporated into the developer’s Abbey Manor development in the Priory Vale area of the town.

The pupils were shown the popular selection of two, three and four-bedroom townhouses, semis and detached properties.

Sandra Hughes, area sales manager for Redrow Homes (South West), said: “We use sustainable timber in all our joists and floors at the development so we were able to show the pupils how new homes in their area are environmentally friendly.

“We are surrounded by a vale of hedgerows and we have incorporated plenty of open spaces into the development for our customers to take advantage of.”

Teacher Mary Swaffield, the literacy co-ordinator and upper school teacher at Colebrook, said: “The children were fascinated by the build process and particularly interested in the environmentally materials used by the construction team at Redrow.

“We are studying where materials are sourced from and how they are incorporated into the design of the homes at Abbey Manor.

“Local planning and environmental issues and how open spaces have to be included in the development were also included in our lessons.

“They thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were big fans of Redrow Homes – now they all want to live in one!”

Redrow has worked with Colebrook Junior School previously under the auspices of the Redrow Schools Partnership, a National Trust initiative that brought together schools from urban and rural areas to work together on arts based projects at their local Trust property.

The house builder also operates an online learning resource for primary and secondary school children, the Redrow Learning Web, which supports the National Curriculum and includes a teachers’ support centre.

On the home front, a selection of four-bedroom terraced and detached houses are currently available at Abbey Manor from £239,000. Two-bedroom apartments are also on sale from £125,000.

For more information about Redrow properties at Abbey Manor, including the opportunity to part-exchange on selected plots, log on to Redrow.co.uk.