The art
of opportunity

In the Building Schools for the Future programme in Bristol, Bristol LEP and Skanska have involved students in a unique series of activities designed to provide education, careers and opportunities by enriching the curriculum.

The vital statistics of this community relations effort show its scale: 4,600 students and teachers have attended briefings, there have been 17 professional training workshops, the Skanska team has held 30 community meetings, open days and parents’ events, as well as 37 public art events and one major construction week event.

Skanska has employed over 5,000 people during the construction period, plus around 200 permanent jobs for the lifetime of the programme. The team has 12 BTec construction students, four apprentices and one full-time worker, and uses 73% local labour.

In addition to these opportunities, Bristol BSF has involved 650 students in a public art programme where students, teachers, community representatives, architects, project team and Public Art groups have had a say in how they wanted their schools to look and be perceived by the wider community.

Kim Tilbrook, of the Real Ideas Organization, which led the project, describes the process: “Our aim was to put the young people in the driving seat, and we helped them to find and commission artists to create unique works for each of the schools.”

At Bristol Brunel Academy, the art consists of a ‘wall of wishes’, conceived by student Claire Rammelkamp after she saw the Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday: “In the movie, Hepburn’s character is taken to see a wall where people had put marble plaques of wishes that had been fulfilled during the war. I thought we could have wishes on our wall. Everyone seemed to like the idea so we asked students and teachers for their wishes. The response was fantastic.

Favourites were – “I wish I could find a cure for cancer”, “I wish for world peace”, “I wish I could fly”. One wish – “I want to be a female prime minister” – was of particular interest to Gordon Brown when he visited the school.

Deputy head girl Amie Gazzard said: “The wall of wishes is great because all the students can see their wish and say ‘that was me’. Every morning when we come to school we feel proud to be coming to Bristol Brunel because we own the school.”

Skanska’s Director of Education Steve Cooper believes that the Skanska team’s community work has been a vital factor in the project’s success: “As BSF is about so much more than bricks and mortar, the supply chain must be prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in to the cultural, transformational and curriculum enrichment aspirations of the programme.

“You might think this would be a huge challenge to throw down to a construction group – but far from it. Our colleagues in Skanska UK, both in the construction and facilities management businesses, have fully embraced this challenge. Between us we’ve worked in over 5,000 curriculum activities. These have included helping young people focus their talents, finding them work at the end of schooling and working with headteachers to make the link between business and schools to help inspire and nurture entrepreneurial skills.”