Tideway supports a new teacher in Fulham to help give pupils the construction bug

13 June 2017 / Categories: News

The company behind London’s super sewer has sponsored a teacher to help encourage pupils think about a career in engineering.

As part of the Class of Your Own 'Adopt a School' programme, the joint venture of BAM Nuttall, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty constructing the west section of the Thames Tideway Tunnel has committed to support Hurlingham Academy in Fulham for two years by providing funding for a DEC (Design Engineer Construct) teacher.

DEC is part of a new syllabus, which is part of the national curriculum from Level 1 Pre-GCS through to A-Levels, although currently at the Academy it is just for Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils.

As part of this programme volunteers from Tideway have been into the school this week to help deliver a number of workshops based on the fundamentals of construction.

Emily Sharp, the new teacher delivering the DEC syllabus joined the school last term under the ‘Class of Your Own’ scheme, said: “It is quite a unique relationship with Tideway and I feel very privileged to be supported by the scheme. The DEC syllabus is new to this school but it is very popular.

“The idea is the kids will come out of it with a much better idea of what kind of roles there are in construction.  The support from the engineers based on the Tideway scheme is invaluable, their real life experiences really do inspire”.

The workshops this week saw engineers from the joint venture come in to help Year 8 students undertake a number of activities including the construction of a weight bearing structure, discussions on procurement and presentations on the key materials needed to build.

Tim Corrigan, Project Director for the Tideway West joint venture, said:

“The investment made by our joint venture demonstrates our commitment to leaving a lasting legacy for the communities within which we work after we have finished constructing the tunnel.

“As a whole, the construction industry is doing tremendous work to promote subjects that will equip future generations with the best engineering and design skills and the DEC syllabus supports this.  Jonathan is already doing a great job and it’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm spilling out the classroom whenever our engineers go in.”

Scott Young, Head of Skills and Employment at Tideway, said:

“We’re really impressed with the level of commitment from our contractors to get themselves integrated in the community and really make a difference to those who will be living around our construction sites.

“We have always said we wanted a strong level of community investment because Tideway is not just about building a sewer, we have a vision to help London reconnect with the River Thames and getting younger generations passionate about the engineering needed to help protect the river for their future is fundamental to that.”

The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a 25km sewer tunnel designed to help tackle the millions of tonnes of raw sewage pouring into the River Thames each year.

Construction started at the end of 2016, and will see the tunnel run up to 65m below the river, to improve London’s environment and allow the city to continue to grow and prosper, creating infrastructure fit for purpose for future generations.

Dubbed the ‘super sewer’, it will ensure the city’s predominantly Victorian sewerage network is able to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population for generations to come.

The tunnel is being built in three sections, the west section runs from Acton to Fulham, the central section from Fulham to Bermondsey, and the east section from Bermondsey to Stratford.