We and 13 of our consultants and contractors engaged 360 students at Walworth Academy, Southwark in developing their skills and knowledge around the built environment. Across two days in March, we worked with year-groups 8 and 9 to design a fictional restaurant in the area. The students were asked to consider its design, structure and materials to coincide with their design and technology curriculum.

We were incredibly impressed as small groups of 13- and 14-year-old students shared their ideas to an auditorium full of their peers, teachers and volunteers, who ultimately picked a winner and runner-up from each year group. The winning groups have been invited in early summer to visit one of our development sites that includes a café to learn more about the design and build process on a live site.

Consultants and contractors involved with the Aylesbury regeneration project volunteered their time as part of their local social value commitments to share their knowledge and experience of the sector. We also had talks from architects and structural engineers about their own career pathways,

giving an insight into the vast array of roles and opportunities that exist within the industry. They also explored different routes in to the sector, such as degree apprenticeships and vocational qualifications. For those young people with a keen interest, we spoke about the option of work experience or apprenticeships with one of our consultants or contractors.

We wish to extend a massive thank you to Walworth Academy, Class of Your Own and the 13 consultants and contractors who generously gave their time to this programme. The feedback from the school and consultants has been overwhelmingly positive. We will be back at the school in June to deliver a workshop with the Year 7 cohort of 180 students. We are also in discussions with the school about planning a follow-up careers event in the near future.