Last year Asmall Primary School in Ormskirk suffered a blaze that destroyed a significant part of their school building. As a University rooted in community spirit, Edge Hill immediately stepped in to offer classrooms on campus.
Working closely together Facilities Management, IT Services and Faculty of Education pulled out all the stops to provide them with all the essentials they needed so that the children could carry on their learning until the end of the summer term. FM have now been shortlisted for the Reaching Higher Award in the Association of University Directors and Estates (AUDE) Awards.
Adrian McGillion said: “I was so proud of what the Facilities Management team managed to achieve and it’s a real honour to be shortlisted for an AUDE award. When local school children needed help the University stepped in and my colleagues and I worked incredibly hard to give them a great experience.
“Whether it was being there to welcome the children, parents and teachers on their first day or just making sure they had everything they needed you could tell it all made a difference and in the end the children really enjoyed their time with us despite the difficult circumstances brought about by the fire.”
Thanks to the incredible efforts of the University, rooms and facilities were rapidly turned into classrooms for the children to continue with their learning and development in a Covid safe environment. The school were back up and running at their temporary home on campus within a week meaning there was minimal disruption to their learning and development.
Minister of State for Universities Michelle Donelan said: “I was very proud to read of the efforts that Edge Hill University is making to help support Asmall Primary School and Nursery. This is an excellent example of the relationships universities have with their local communities.”
The AUDE awards will take place on Tuesday 5 April at the Aston Webb, Great Hall, University of Birmingham. Guests will include directors of estates, corporate sponsors, guest judges, shortlisted nominees and AUDE staff. Find out more on their website.
To discover more about our courses at Edge Hill, please visit ehu.ac.uk/study.
April 6, 2022
