Planning a city is just child’s play in Sheffield
Pupils from Owler Brook Primary School have created their own vision of a future Sheffield......in model form. Our picture shows head Sue Bridges with some of the young designers.
COUNCIL bosses watch your back – these bright young things have crafted a brand new model for a future Sheffield.
Youngsters at Owler Brook Primary School in Grimesthorpe got the surprise of their lives when they were called into assembly to be briefed on a very special task.
Teachers presented them with photographs of the packed streets and roads of the city centre to illustrate the problem – Sheffield is too busy.
Their mission was to create a brand new place for the people of the city to live by the end of the week.
Older pupils posed as residents and businessmen to set out specific criteria the city had to meet.
A farmer demanded land to work and live, while a mum-of-six living in a high-rise flat asked for a home with a garden for her family.
Pupils got to work on designs for housing, transport links and amenities for the plan. Regular timetables were replaced with time to work on the project to build children’s skills in four key areas – being resilient, resourceful, reflective and reciprocal.
Using everything from cardboard boxes to clay, they brought their drawings to life to create a huge model Sheffield in the middle of the school hall.
Headteacher Sue Bridges said: “They thought about what you need in a city then made drawings and designs, then worked in partners or groups to create it. The result was a million times better than what we thought they’d do.
“There was a big skyscraper with a helicopter bad, a river and lots of parks and countryside. They were keen for it to have that.
“There were houses for families, a big cinema with a clapper board model on top and a Sheffield tower giving a view across the whole of the city.
“We’ve got children from the age of three up to the age of nine and every single one got involved. Different pupils showed strength in different areas.”
Once the model was complete the school threw open its doors to parents to view the fruits of the youngsters’ labour.
Mrs Bridges said: “The first thing they said when they walked in was ‘wow’. It looked spectacular.”
Staff at Owler Brook were forced to dismantle the model to make room for regular activities, but it has been split up and placed at different points around the school to remind children of the achievement.
What would you like to see in the Sheffield of the future? Email: letters@thestar.co.uk
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
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