IMAGE: Bacon’s students on site at Printworks 

Ten Year 13 students from Bacon’s College recently visited the Printworks site to learn about the redevelopment and evolution of the historic building.  

The 17- and 18-year-old students, who are learning skills in marketing, computer-aided design and project management, discovered how features of the former newspaper printing facility are being retained for its future use as workspace and a global cultural venue. They also looked at 3D models used to document and forecast the project being carried out by Wates for British Land and AustralianSuper as part of the Canada Water development. 

“It a was a great opportunity to help me understand the built environment,” said one student. “The workers were all so friendly and it made me see that this was an environment I would like to work in. I enjoyed seeing the plans of Canada Water and how it will develop in the future.” 

The students’ visit was arranged by social mobility charity Construction Youth Trust (CYT), in collaboration with British Land. The longstanding partnership between these two organisations has already helped many people in the area gain the skills and knowledge they need to break into the built environment sector.  

These include Shannon, from Construction Youth Trust, who joined T. Clarke as an electrical apprentice after going through CYT’s programme. Students from Construction Youth Trust have also been introduced to CityScape Digitial, whose innovative use of AI and VR technologies offered a unique glimpse into the future of construction, particularly around Canada Water.  

Find out more about Construction Youth Trust here:  www.constructionyouth.org.uk