Pupils from King Ecgbert School, a secondary school based in Sheffield, are taking part in a unique charity competition to design an eco-school for children in Parabongo, a village in Northern Uganda.
The brain child of Class Of Your Own (COYO) the UK’s pioneering provider of accredited learning programmes for the technical and professional built environment, and UK based charity Seeds for Development (Seeds), the Parabongo Challenge will see King Ecgbert School pupils join hundreds of other secondary school children from across the UK to design the innovative eco-school.
The new Parabongo school will provide an education to 1,000 children aged 3-18, and will teach numeracy, literacy, science, technology and engineering – alongside basic life skills such as growing food and personal hygiene.
King Ecgbert School students will have the chance to use Autodesk Revit to construct their building designs – the same software used by industry professionals – and will tackle the challenge of researching and using natural building resources local to Parabongo. The pupils will also be supported by top construction industry professionals and students from universities across the UK to create their own design for the school.
Alison Watson, managing director of Class of Your Own, said: “To be able to offer the pupils of King Ecgbert School the chance to design a school that will not only provide support to hundreds of desperate farming families, but that will also introduce new skills and learning techniques to the school children of Sheffield is a fantastic opportunity.”
Helen Vardy, Leader of Learning Key Stage 4 &5 Design and Technology’ at King Ecgbert School said: “The Parabongo Challenge is a great chance for our pupils to help more children in the world get an education, while improving their own skills and getting a taster of some very interesting careers.
All the teachers involved are excited about how the challenge will showcase the importance of Design and Technology in preparing students for professional careers. We’re all really looking forward to getting started on our entry.”
For more information on Parabongo Challenge and to keep up to date with the progress of the project, visit: http://designengineerconstruct.com/vision-hope-school-parabongo-challenge/
