News & Features

Haslemere pupils are winners in the Every Child Matters Safety art competition!

Building directly opposite a school for young children can be a challenge. So Premier Properties joined forces with the school community near its Crofton Manor development in Haslemere to promote an art competition to raise awareness of the dangers of building sites. The Every Child Matters Safety Art Competition at St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School in Haslemere has been hailed a great success.

On Friday, 20th July, the Mayor of Haslemere, Stephen Mulliner, joined Acting Headteacher, Paul Beach, teachers and school children for the final judging of the competition, organised by Joe Jelley, Development Manager of Premier Properties and Andrea Hyland, School Community Manager at St Bartholomew’s. The winners’ announcement also drew a strong, local interest from PC Ralph Swindell, the local curate, Chris Williams and Peter Gordon of Eagle Radio!

Joe Jelley commented, “To young children, a building site looks like an exciting place to play, but it can be very dangerous. Our new Crofton Manor development is literally opposite St Bartholomew’s, so we were keen to make the pupils aware of the hazards here and at other sites. Working closely with the school, I’m delighted that we’ve been able to do this in a way which puts across a very serious message in a fun way!”

The pupils at St Bartholomew’s, aged four to eleven, were asked to design a poster alerting other children to the dangers of building sites. 100 pieces of art were short-listed and have been displayed on a special hoarding at Crofton Manor for the past eight weeks. Of the sixteen finalists, four winners were chosen; one from each of the four age-groups.

The winner of the Foundation Stage category was five year old, Camille. The Key Stage One winner was six year old Ruby while Georgia, nine, won from the Lower Key Stage Two group and ten year old Alex was chosen from the Upper Key Stage Two group. A special mention was also given to ten year old Angharad.

Each of the winners received a special Art and Craft set, to encourage their budding artistic talents, as well as special laminated copies of their winning entries, donated by Reade Signs.

“We’ve been incredibly impressed with the enthusiasm and talent shown by these young pupils,” says Joe Jelley, “It’s been a pleasure to display their work at Crofton Manor, where it has been much admired and added delightful decoration to our site. We very much hope that the children will now spread the safety message to their friends and family.”

Andrea Hyland, School Community Manager at St Bartholomew’s, adds: “The children have thoroughly enjoyed entering this competition and have had a great deal of fun, as well as learning some valuable lessons about building sites. Throughout the construction of their new development, the Premier Properties’ team has regularly kept us informed about developments that could impact on school life, in particular when articulated lorries have been making deliveries. We very much appreciate their consideration in putting the well being of the children first.”

Premier Properties commenced construction work at Crofton Manor in March 2007. The site extends to a third of an acre and the new development, scheduled for completion in November 2007, will comprise of six spacious two-bedroom apartments and a three-bedroom, luxury penthouse, set in mature landscaped grounds.

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