School's cool when you visit a quarry

A visit to Sevenoaks quarry brought lessons to life for 11-year-olds from a local primary school.

The group from Russell House School in Otford travelled by train to the quarry where they were met by Keith Stockley, zone manager, and Roy Sharrad, quarry manager. Keith and Roy gave the children a brief history of the quarry and talked about its geology, ecology and biodiversity. They then gave the pupils a site tour that included a visit to working seams.

“The children had already done quite a bit of research at school into local industry and geology so the visit was very beneficial for them,” said Roy.

They obviously enjoyed it too: “I especially liked the different types of sand”, “I enjoyed watching the machinery working” and “I learnt a lot today” were just some of the comments in thank-you letters written by the children.

Teacher Jonathon Bishop said it was “a fantastic day”. He added: “The children were all thoroughly enthused about the morning’s activities. Thank you for devoting your time to helping them with their education.”

School visits are something Sevenoaks likes to encourage, added Roy. ”In the past we’ve had visits from schools attended by blind and severely disabled children. The children get a lot out of them and they’re a good way to build links with the local community.”

(All external links open in a new window)

26 September 2011