Year Six Pupils See ‘Science’ Of Steel
A group of County Durham children were treated to an afternoon of science with a difference at Finley Structures.
The year six pupils from Fishburn Primary School took time out of the classroom to visit our Newton Aycliffe site, to see the process of raw steel being made into a full structure.
The youngsters were first given a 3D demonstration by a structural engineer, showing them a virtual construction on screen, before going on to the shop floor to see the steel being fabricated by the most advanced computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinery available.
They then went on-site to see the steel being erected at Durham County Council’s £10m North East Technology Park (NETPark) development, near Sedgefield.
Their teacher Danny Eason said: “The whole afternoon covered maths, science and art originally, but it also demonstrated team skills and people working together, so it was hugely beneficial for the children and they thoroughly enjoyed it.
“The fascination for them was seeing the steel being prepared at Finley Structures first, how the structural engineer designed it then going on to the shop floor to see it being put together.
“They then visited the site at NETPark to see it being erected so they’ve seen the whole process from start to almost the finish and they found that very interesting.
“The children will produce a short film about their visit for their social media site, so the whole trip was invaluable.”
The children’s visit was a joint-venture by Willmott Dixon, the firm responsible for building the science park at NETPark, and one of their major sub-contractors Finley Structures.
John Finley, managing director of the family-run Aycliffe-based firm, said: “Both Finley and Willmott Dixon are committed to involving the community on our projects and this was a fantastic reflection of that.
“The children enjoyed a very informative and practical lesson, both in our factory and on-site, and they were extremely responsive and inquisitive.
“We hope they got a lot out of the afternoon and we look forward to welcoming more children on future projects as we continually look to involve our local community.”
NETPark houses businesses in the science and technology sector. Its new development near Sedgefield, which comprises two units all together, will provide premises for firms that have developed its incubator facilities.
Finley Structures was formed in 2000, and the family-owned company moved to its current location at Aycliffe Business Park in 2003. The company provides structural steelwork to the construction industry, and in 2008 invested more than £1m in its production facility to manufacture in excess of 200 tonnes of steel per week.
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