A local educational centre is giving pupils at the local secondary school the chance to learn on-the-job skills.

George Belsey, owner of the Green Lanes Centre near Cornworthy, is reinvigorating an educational centre originally started by his parents Valerie and David Belsey in 1984, is giving students at King Edward VI College a chance to learn some practical skills.

George’s parents used the site to educate groups from local schools about the local history of the area as well as teaching traditional skills such as hedge laying and willow weaving to school and adult groups.

George said: “Since my parents got older the site was used less, I moved back to the area and have a small family of my own now and over the last couple of years me and my partner Lauren have been reinvigorating the site and running small events which are great fun but a little limited due to the lack of infrastructure.

“Now we have got our planning permission to build the structures these will give a great learning space for all the groups that come be it adults or children.

“We felt rather than just building the structures ourselves or getting a building firm in, why not offer secondary school students the opportunity to experience what it is like to be part of a project like this and learn some important life skills on the way.”

The nine-meter roundhouse will be used as the hub of the site where people can meet and plan the day’s events and also offers shelter if the weather turns bad. This is the building the children from Kevicc will be building, building it from the ground up and will come on a weekly basis. They’ll be able to discuss and have input into the project at any given time.

George continued: “The log cabin will be the kitchen area, which will probably become the real hub of the site by default, we’re hoping children and other groups can grow food on the site and then cook and eat what they grow.

“This building project will start after we finish the roundhouse and will involve students once again, we really want the students to build these structures as they will be the ones using them and they will get a real sense of achievement and it will be something they can come back to and show off to others.

“The reason we went to Kevicc is firstly I am a former student, and most importantly as we are a social enterprise we wanted to offer this opportunity to the local community, so the individual students can benefit as well as local groups using the site in the future.

“Once the buildings are built the plan is to continue to have school groups out to learn about the environment in a unique setting this will be through forest school practices as well as traditional farming techniques like learning about the growing cycle and harvesting some to eat!

“We feel the students will get a massive sense of achievement from being part of the project, they will gain vital life skills such as communication skills, working in teams, problem solving, cognitive and will hopefully come out of it with a better level of confidence in their ability.”

Kate Frater, the Next Step South West in school co-ordinator and learning support assistant at Kevicc, said George had approached them about the opportunity.

She said: “This project will give students curriculum enrichment and give them the opportunity to put their learning into context. Subjects such as maths, geometry will have a practical application, as well as being able to learn new skills such as forestry, building, woodwork and the environment in a safe and nurturing space.

“At the end of this the students will come away with a portfolio of work, risk assessments, and building and environmental work. We’re really excited and we’re hoping to start working with George in the Summer Term, with some warmer weather.

“Its always great to hear from our old students and have that community link with them, and have them come back and help our current students.”

George is fundraising for materials at the moment, and you can find the page at: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/outdoor-learning-through-green-wood-construction/You can find out more about the Green Lanes Centre on their website: www.greenlanescentre.co.uk