Bramall sets schoolchildren on the road to a sustainable future » Communities » 24dash.com

Ambitious youngsters at Accrington Academy in Lancashire took a trip to Westminster to showcase their plans to build a new eco classroom in the grounds of their school.

The pupils, whose travel costs were covered by housebuilders including Salford-based Bramall Construction, are the first in the country to go about planning and managing their own eco project.

Leading community regeneration specialist Bramall Construction hopes to get involved in building the eco classroom as soon as the project is given the green light by planners.

Land Surveyor Alison Watson and Architect Dan Gibson devised the “Class of your Own” workshop to encourage schoolchildren to design their own building using locally sourced materials and renewable energy.

Accrington Academy was chosen for being a dynamic, forward thinking school and pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 were selected to take part in competitive workshops before selling their designs to a panel of judges.

A team from each year group were crowned overall winners, with the ultimate prize being to work together to construct their own eco classroom and put their plans into practice.

Using the guidance of Class of Your Own professionals, the winning 30 students formed their own company called “Roots” and attended intensive surveying, architecture and landscaping sessions which resulted in their final design.

As part of the process, Bramall’s Contracts Manager Terry Hannon hosted a presentation to discuss his career in construction and attended an official launch day to listen to the pupils’ plans.

He said: “It just goes to show that whatever your age, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. The concept of encouraging schoolchildren to design their own interactive eco friendly classroom is absolutely brilliant and Bramall is very keen to hopefully help build the eco classroom as soon as it is granted planning permission.”

The scheme is being backed by Accrington MP Greg Pope and the youngsters received a glowing endorsement from Business, Innovation and Skills Minister Rosie Winterton during their visit to Westminster.

She said: “If all your ideas were put into practice, and if you could capture the talent in this room, I think the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills could close down.

“We’re trying to get lots more entrepreneurs, and you are all entrepreneurs who will be leading the world out of the recession and onto new horizons.” “

Alison added: “The students hope that their design can go to planning very soon so that their dream of building their very own classroom in the grounds of the school can become a reality.

“This is a project built by the community, for the community, and there’s never been a better time to demonstrate the impact young people can have in shaping their future, through the very institution where they spend a lot of their time.”