Local brickworks shows schoolchildren how bricks are made from the ground up

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 19 June 2019

Students from a local primary school have paid a visit to Forterra’s Measham brickworks, where they witnessed the brickmaking process first-hand and teamed up for a competition to design a realistic brick structure.

The building products manufacturer welcomed 23 Year 5 and 6 students from OneSchool Global’s Atherstone Campus to its brickmaking facility at Measham, Leicestershire earlier this month. The students were taken on a tour of the factory, enabling them to learn about the journey from raw material to finished product in an interactive environment.

The students then got stuck into the Forterra Brick Challenge, working in small groups to design a complex and symmetrical brick structure in under 30 minutes. This involved age-appropriate Maths, creative thinking and teamwork, with Forterra providing giftcards as prizes for the winners.

Jo Carvell, Educational Visits Coordinator at OneSchool Global’s Atherstone Campus, said:

“With Materials and their Properties on the Key Stage 2 curriculum, the factory tour allowed the children to apply what they’ve learned in their Science lessons through hands-on activities. The Forterra Brick Challenge also encouraged cross-curricular learning and appealed to the students’ competitive streaks.

“We would like to thank Forterra for all the time, preparation and thought they put into our visit. The children thoroughly enjoyed their day and came away with a good understanding of how bricks are made.”

Ben Sharrock, Production Manager at Forterra’s Measham works, said:

“It was a pleasure to show such an enthusiastic and inquisitive group of students around our brickworks, allowing them a glimpse into the inner workings of a busy brick factory. We hope their visit proved interesting and maybe even inspired a future Forterra worker or two.”

For more information about Forterra, please visit https://www.forterra.co.uk/. You can also follow the company on LinkedIn and on Twitter via @ForterraUK.

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