Bexhill school children visit new housing development

Reception class children from St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School in Hastings Road, Bexhill, visited Vistry Group’s The Gateway development in Wrestwood Road.

The children were given a brief introduction to housebuilding and were told about carpentry and bricklaying while laying a few themselves. 

They also took part in a game of guessing the number of bricks, hammered in some nail, and got to look at the machines on site before a quiz was held to wrap up the day.

Vistry organised the trip in conjunction with The Pelham, a Christian charity in Bexhill which runs a host of projects for local people including The Pelham Building Enterprise, which provides jobs in construction for trainee labourers, as an introduction to the construction industry.

Bovis Gateway Visit

 The housebuilder is working with The Pelham to provide the Local Employment and Skills Plan as part of the section 106 agreement to give social value and local opportunities to the community. 

It has also donated timber and materials from the site to eliminate waste and allow them to be reused for charitable purposes.

Ollie Jeffs, chief executive of The Pelham, whose daughter took part in the visit, said: “St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is very local to The Gateway site and many children often walk or drive past it on the way to school.

“It made sense for them to visit the site, especially because the reception class, which my daughter is in, is currently learning about homes.

“Visits such as these allow the children to be inspired that construction is a great industry to work in and that new homes come with new opportunities in the area.”

Lee Cote, site manager at The Gateway, said: “We were really pleased to welcome the children from St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School to the site. 

“Visits like these are such a good thing to help them understand what we do.”