Member Article

Leeds School Pupils Build Education At Greenhill Fold

SCHOOL pupils from Five Lanes Primary School in Upper Wortley have marked the end of their summer term with a visit to Greenhill Fold to learn about housebuilding and how historic buildings can be given a new lease of life.

As part of the £8million village development, the former grade II listed Upper Wortley School is being transformed into 13, two and three bedroom loft style houses and a further 36, two, three and four bedroom, contemporary homes are being built within the school’s grounds. Half of the 49 homes, which are being developed by Leeds companies Rushbond Group and Advent Developments, have already been reserved off plan.

Five Lanes Primary’s School Council, which consists of 20 pupils aged between 7 and 11, visited the development and were given an insight into the construction industry as well as learning how houses are built and the dangers associated with construction sites. The pupils were also given the opportunity to explore the houses in the former school building.

This latest visit follows approximately 30 teachers, teaching assistants, dinner ladies and maintenance staff, who all used to work at the school before moving to Five Lanes Primary School, visiting the site earlier this year.

Tim Reeve, from Advent Developments, explains: “We’re always keen to foster strong relationships in the local communities we work in and it was a delight to welcome the local School Council to Greenhill Fold. All the pupils really engaged, showed a keen interest in the development and asked some fantastic questions about the work we’re doing here. Everyone that has visited the development has been suitably impressed, which is reflected in the number of homes that have already sold, and it’s great that these pupils mirrored this trend.”

The pupils were accompanied on the visit by deputy head teacher Mrs Linda Way and ICT Manager Mrs Julie Falkinder, who both previously worked at the former Upper Wortley School. Mrs Way says: “The pupils thoroughly enjoyed this visit and especially because many of them have parents and other family members who were pupils at Upper Wortley School, which was such a big part of the local community.

“It’s fantastic that the building will now have a new lease of life and after teaching at the old school for 12 years, it was fascinating to step foot inside again and see how it has been completely transformed into high quality homes. It was particularly nice to see that so many of the building’s original features have been retained, such as the tall and decorative windows that offer far-reaching views and the roof trusses that were a key feature of the old assembly hall.”

Next month will see the launch of a fully furnished, newly built show home at Greenhill Fold which will give potential buyers a real feel for the quality finish and spacious, modern layouts that run throughout the whole scheme.

The development’s sales centre is open from 11am until 5pm Thursday to Monday and the first homes will be ready to move into next month. Many buyers at the development are using the Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme which means they only need a five per cent deposit to secure a 75 per cent mortgage, with the government providing a low interest loan for the remaining 20 per cent.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steven Wright .