A Bristol school has been given a helping hand by Wales & West Utilities after staff stepped in to help get classrooms and other facilities ready to start the new school year in style.
St George Church of England Primary School on Queens Parade underwent a renovation during the summer with most equipment taken away to a storage facility to ensure a smooth running project. With the work complete at the end of August and the new term fast approaching staff found themselves against the clock to get classrooms ready for pupils to return.
Wales & West Utilities, which has recently completed essential work on Whiteladies Road to replace 800 metres of gas pipe in a £250,000 investment scheme, were contacted by the school and were only too happy to send a team to help.
Working with teachers, eight colleagues from the gas distribution network spent two days carrying out tasks including putting up shelves, unpacking books to make sure the library was ready and putting out desks and chairs. The work was completed in time for pupils to return to school on Monday 7 September.
Shireen Hayes, Head Teacher at St George Primary School, said:
“Having undergone major renovation works this summer we found ourselves having to delay the start of the term by a couple of days as the school wasn’t ready for pupils to return. Even with all teachers and other volunteers help we were struggling.
“We were absolutely thrilled to have the help of Wales & West Utilities – the team was fantastic and got stuck in to help ensure pupils could return to a safe environment to carry out their learning.”
Danielle Royce, Wales & West Utilities Stakeholder Engagement Manager said:
“We were delighted to help St George get ready for the pupils return. We are committed to making a difference to the communities in which we work and now hope pupils and teachers can enjoy their new school environment.”
Wales & West Utilities work on Whiteladies Road was essential to make sure that homes and businesses across the area receive a safe and reliable supply of gas to homes and businesses for years to come. It was part of the company’s multi-million-pound 30-year mains replacement programme, across Wales and the south west, which began in 2002. Old metal pipes within 30 metres of buildings are being replaced with new long-lasting plastic pipes with a lifespan of more than 80 years.
Wales & West Utilities is celebrating 10 years of delivering gas safely and securely to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses across Wales and the south west of England. We do not sell gas, we transport it, and more than 7.5 million customers rely on us to do so.
Our dedicated and skilled teams manage and maintain a gas network of more than 35,000 kilometres of gas pipes to make sure we continue to provide a safe and reliable gas supply 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Every year we connect more than 11,000 new customers to our gas network and respond to more than 90,000 gas escapes.