Children Challenging Industry

December 2009

Children from Havannah Primary School, Congleton, last week spent a morning at nearby Bent Farm Quarry as part of the Children Challenging Industry project. Twenty six pupils, aged between ten and eleven, took a close-up look at the quarry, operated by Sibelco UK, to see how sand is extracted and processed before being used in the manufacture of a wide range of everyday items such as glass, engine parts and paint.

“By combining hands-on experiments with tours of the quarry operation, we were able to show the children how industrial sand is used to make a wide range of goods,” commented Brian Williamson, Technical Manager at Sibelco UK. “The children were really enthusiastic about the poject and had great fun with the science-based activities.”

The Children Challenging Industry (CCI) project, which began in 1996, aims to create enthusiasm for learning science amongst primary school children by providing classroom-based training for the teaching of the National Curriculum for Science. This, and liaison with local science-based manufacturing companies, enables pupils to see how the science they learn at school is used in a 'real life' context.

Martin O’Donnell, Head Teacher at Havannah School said: “We were delighted to have had the opportunity to visit Bent Farm Quarry. The children have enjoyed the Children Challenging Industry Project and have spent 2 days working on practical science activities as well as learning about how important teams are in industry. We hope to follow up the quarry visit with a trip to another industrial site to see how the material quarried at Bent Farm is manufactured. This will enable the children to see the whole process from beginning to end.”

Sibelco has been operating Bent Farm Quarry at Congleton since 1981 and the site represents one of the country’s most important reserves of silica sand. Due to its unique physical and chemical properties, the sand from Bent Farm is extensively utilised by UK foundries and currently satisfies more than half of the industry’s demand for silica sand.