Forterra donates bricks to Stamford College’s skill challenge

Forterra has supported Stamford College’s annual inter-college skills challenge by donating bricks and providing an industry expert as a judge.

As part of Forterra’s Construction Hubs programme, Stamford College benefits from material and educational support; it donated its London Bricks to the College.

Tom Deignan, bricklaying lecturer and course co-ordinator for Level 3 Brickwork at Stamford College, commented: “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.”

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.

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.

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.”