Building up boys to succeed in their trades
20 Nov 2024
Year 11 Workshop Technology students are building a reputation for creating special pieces that benefit others.
Overseen by teacher Carey Prebble and supported by Kerry Brockelbank, the budding builders have come up with a blueprint for teamwork, high-quality workmanship, and community spirit.
With their latest projects, Gabriel Beavan, Jack Beavan, Nico Blundell, Sam Cochrane, George Dale, Max Dormer, Charlie Frost, Harry Holmes, Archie Huston, Bailey Kingan, Jimmy Knight, Luke Manderson, Gus McKenzie, Arthur Meares, Gus Moylan, Jack Richardson, Oliver Skene, and Jake Walters have all wanted to make a difference through their workshop work.
They have pooled their talents to create stylish barbecue tables for the College cricket pavilion and a preschool in Spreydon or sturdy gun racks – featuring the College logo – for the school’s much-travelled clay target shooting team.
As Gus McKenzie explains “it’s been good to work on a bigger project that benefits others, and not just myself” while fellow Year 11 Arthur Meares has “enjoyed the chance to work as a group and pool our best ideas so that we can find the best way” to deliver the tables and gun racks.
He has also revelled in the “collaborative approach”, adding that it has been “a lot of fun working together” as a project team, complete with a foreman and dedicated crew.
Ms Prebble points out that these “bigger projects provide the scope for our boys to work together as a team and take a more in-depth approach to learning in the trades field”.
“It also means that students can focus on trade-specific skills, such as communication and work ethic, and better understand the importance of safety and putting in place the correct steps to produce a high-quality product,” she says.
“It has been great to see the final outcomes, which have been very rewarding as all the pieces benefit the school community or a busy preschool. Our approach also benefits the students in terms of the real-world applications of their work. We want to engage all the boys so that they can reflect on the success of their learning and be well prepared for moving into Year 12.”
