News and Events - Quarry Link
Pupils visit working Quarry in Faversham
Year 3/4 pupils from Bysingwood Primary School and Year 8 pupils from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, recently visited the local Brett Aggregate quarry at Ham Farm, Oare, as part of Groundwork’s Heritage Lottery Funded project, based around the past, present and future uses of the quarry. Now back in the classroom the pupils from Bysingwood will be learning more about the industrial history of Faversham, while the older pupils at Queen Elizabeth Grammar will be producing restoration plans for the site.
During the visits both schools were given a full tour of the site by Brett staff, where the pupils learnt about the dangers associated with working and visiting a quarry site, as part of Brett’s ‘Play safe, stay safe’ campaign. Throughout the visit the pupils were able to watch the aggregate extraction and sorting process up close, and look at the different types and sizes of aggregate.
The Queen Elizabeth pupils then focused on the past and future restoration of the site, looking at previously restored lakes - now a haven for wildlife - which will assist them with their own individual restoration plans. Crispin Chandler, Head of Geography at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School commented, "The students really enjoyed their visit to the quarry and have worked extremely hard in their follow up work. It has been a chance to work on a scheme that sets out to understand and improve their own environment, which has been inspirational to many. We welcome links with local industry and find it extremely useful to use local case studies to exemplify geographical issues and theory."
In contrast, the Bysingwood pupils were taken to an area where extraction hasn’t yet started, and they were given the opportunity to dig up Victorian artifacts including pieces of pottery, glass bottles, pots and the occasional pipe. This was part of the non-degradable remains of London refuse which had been brought back by the barges which took local bricks into the city to sell.
Derek Knight, Southern Area Quarry Manager from Brett who helped organise the trips added, “We welcome planned visits which allow pupils to see the sites and learn about the dangers of a quarry. The recent visits went really well, the pupils were very responsive and asked lots of questions.”
Pupils from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School are shown around the quarry
Pupils from Bysingwood Primary School unearth Victorian artifacts
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