A primary school in Sunderland has received a welcome donation from a North East construction firm to inspire the next generation of construction and engineering workers.

Esh Construction, one of the region’s leading building firms, is creating a link road to improve connectivity between Ryhope and Doxford Park in Sunderland. As part of their local community engagement during the works, members of the Esh team visited St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, to deliver a ‘Get into STEM’ session.

Following the session, Esh donated a range of construction site safety equipment and other resources which has enabled the school to create an early years construction area for children to enjoy while highlighting the importance of safety in the construction industry.

Gerry Kelly, headteacher at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, which is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, said: “It was lovely to welcome some of the Esh community team into our school to meet the children and talk to them about what it’s like to work in construction and the importance of staying safe at work.

“We’re focused on introducing children to a variety of businesses and industries to demonstrate the various career paths they can follow.

“Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) forms a key part of our curriculum with children given many opportunities to develop their STEM interests and skills.

“Thank you to Esh Construction for the kind donation, the children love their new construction area and equipment.”

The donation included construction safety workwear, hard hats and other equipment that pupils can safely use whilst working in the new construction area in their classroom.

Kate Marshall, social value manager at Esh Construction, said: “Being a considerate constructor and giving back to the communities where we work is one of our key values as a business.

“It’s important to engage with local communities about our industry, the work we do and the multiple job opportunities the sector provides.

“Working with schools is a key part of our community activity and we had a great session at St Patrick’s.

“The pupils were keen to learn all about construction and what’s involved and they had lots of fun dressing up as a construction worker for the day, with hard hats and safety vests.”


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