Forterra donates bricks to Stamford College’s skill challenge

As part of Forterra’s Construction Hubs programme, Stamford College benefits from material and educational support. For this challenge, Forterra donated its iconic London Bricks. Using high quality bricks ensures learners and apprentices have the best materials to work and learn with, creating cleaner lines and providing a more professional finish to the work.

Now in its eighth year, the challenge took place over six hours, with entrants from six different colleges competing as individuals to show off their newly learned skills. Peterborough College, Boston College, Grantham College, College of West Anglia and Cambridge Anglia College all took part, each entering three or four students.

A selection of challenges designed by Peter Roberts from City and Guilds tested the students’ practical skills, time management and ability to fulfil a brief. The competition saw students using Ashwell Yellow Multi bricks donated by Allison Homes and London Heather bricks from Forterra. The brief was to create the Forterra “F” and a “SC” for Stamford College in the wall they built.

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Prizes were awarded for first, second and third place and included tools and equipment from companies Marshalltown and Stabila and a £50 gift voucher. The prizes were donated by Tilgear and handed out to the winners by a select group of judges: Tom Deignan from Stamford College, Phil Latka a Stamford Bricklaying Lecturer, Andy McPartlin from Allison Homes and Forterra’s own Technical Manager, Howard Pickwell.

Stamford College saw five of its students on the City and Guilds Level 1 Brickwork Diploma take part in the competition:

Jacob Player, age 17

TJ Courtman, age 19

Jesse Avery-Morgan, age 17

Mikolaj Figura, age 17

Liene Melne, age 17

Jesse won second place and was awarded with two sizes of trowel to add to his tool box.

First place was awarded to Leonie McDougal from Peterborough College and third place was given to Grantham College student Botond Lados.

Stamford College also recently benefited from visiting Forterra’s Kings Dyke factory in Peterborough. The visit provided the learners with the chance to witness the full brick making process. They were able to tour the site, speak with staff members and meet with a wellbeing coach who spoke about the importance of physical and mental health on the job.

Tom Deignan, Bricklaying lecturer and Course Co-ordinator for Level 3 Brickwork at Stamford College, said: “The competition is a highlight of the academic year for all staff and students. It gives the opportunity for students from all the local colleges to compete and show case their skills that they have gained through the year. It’s fantastic that our Jesse was awarded second place and we can’t wait to see what he does next.

“We are proud that the learners have access to top quality materials from Forterra. Having clean materials to work with is so important for skill development and means our learners and apprentices can really take pride in their work.”

Adam Smith, Commercial Director at Forterra, said: “A huge congratulations to the winners. We place great importance on education at Forterra and are delighted to provide opportunities to support upcoming bricklayers through the Stamford College Brick Challenge. It was amazing to see the amount of talent showcased by the students and we can’t wait to see what next year brings.”

For more information about Forterra and its Construction Hubs, visit https://www.forterra.co.uk/about-us/community/construction-hubs/.