Behind the scenes with Redrow in Corby

Local students braved the July showers to get a taste of life on a building development, thanks to a link up with an award-winning housebuilder. Redrow Homes’ development Oakley Vale, in Corby, welcomed students and teachers from Weston Favell School for a behind the scenes tour, which included a health and safety introduction, looking at different build stages of houses, and inspecting some of the larger plant machines – all with engines firmly turned off.

Keith Hess, site manager at Oakley Vale, who helped show the students around, says:

“We take pride in our work within the communities in which we build, especially where it involves the education of local children. The students found out what is involved in working on a building site – largely from a construction point of view. There was a lot of interest in the plumbing and carpentry side of things and also what is involved in doing the site manager job. It’s definitely something I’d like to do again, especially if it means encouraging students to become involved in the construction industry.”

Ruth Thompson, one of the teachers who went to Oakley Vale, said: “The team at Redrow were very professional in their explanations of daily site activities. They were motivational and gave students insights on the benefits of the apprenticeship programs. The students had a wonderful visit and were thankful to Redrow for allowing them this opportunity.”

Redrow is building 141 houses and apartments at Oakley Vale, as part of a consortium of developers who are helping to create a whole new community, with all the amenities a young couple, growing family, or empty nester could need. It will eventually feature almost 3,000 new homes, and already boasts its own shopping precinct and primary schools as well as large areas of open spaces.

Visits like that of Weston Favell School are just one part of a wider education programme operated by Redrow and targeting youngsters right through from infants to school-leaving age.

For the youngest children, safety mascot Buster the Bear offers health and safety tips and a range of activities to help them understand the potential dangers of playing on building sites; while the Redrow Learning Web is an online learning resource which meets with the national curriculum and has modules for primary and secondary school pupils, together with teachers’ notes for lesson planning.

For more information about Redrow’s education programme visit Education.redrow.co.uk. For details of its properties and other community initiatives log on to Redrow.co.uk.