Over 70 girls from Cottenham Village College took part in an event at Waterbeach designed to inspire more young women to consider careers in construction, design and placemaking. The day provided hands-on experience as well as valuable insights into the many roles that are needed to shape thriving new communities. This was especially meaningful as many of the pupils live in Waterbeach Village and have a personal connection to the future of the new town.
The Make Your Mark event was organised and hosted by master developer Urban& Civic – and supported by landscape and ecology experts Bradley Murphy Design, masterplanning architects JTP, engineering consultants Brookbanks, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, South Cambridgeshire District Council and St John’s Church – to showcase some of the roles and disciplines needed to create sustainable new communities like Waterbeach.
As well as presentations from women in senior positions within the industry, the Year 9 students were encouraged to explore their creative design skills during two workshop sessions. The Waterbeach team is in the process of designing two amazing new parks for the development and asked attendees to develop designs for their own park: letting their imaginations run wild, whilst considering practicalities such as planting, play equipment, surface material, accessibility and climate change.
The second workshop focussed on sustainable transport and asked the students to reimagine a bus shelter and design a safe and comfortable waiting space. This included thinking about information and support that would help encourage more people to use the bus and other forms of public transport.
A guided tour of the development and an opportunity to explore the Wild Woods play area helped bring these challenges to life and show how design ideas evolve into real places that people can enjoy.
In the afternoon, Urban&Civic’s jobs and skills partner, Constructed Pathways ran a bricklaying session at its Waterbeach facility to give some of the pupils an opportunity to try their hand at a practical construction skill.
Caroline Ward, Community Development Lead for Waterbeach master developer Urban&Civic, said: “The Make Your Mark event was a fantastic example of collaboration, insights and inspiration to encourage the next generation of women to consider the many career opportunities available to make their mark on the built environment.
“The pupils were enthusiastic and fully engaged throughout the day, and it was fantastic to see so much creativity, curiosity and talent in the room. It was also really rewarding to watch that spark of inspiration as they discovered the many exciting opportunities within development and construction, and how they are being used to create this incredible new town. It was also fantastic to hear how positive they were about the many career opportunities the Waterbeach development could bring for them and their community.”
Paddy Winter, Assistant Principal at Cottenham Village College: “The Urban&Civic event focusing on women in industry was absolutely brilliant. Pupils explored the design process behind large-scale developments and saw how creative thinking and technical expertise come together to shape communities.
“Being out on site made it all real. They weren’t just hearing about careers; they were experiencing them. The bricklaying activity was a highlight, giving students a hands-on sense of pride and achievement. Most importantly, the day helped break down misconceptions that careers in this field are limited to architects or bricklayers. Pupils walked away with a real insight into how people-focused and diverse the industry truly is.”
This event is one of a number of initiatives to open up opportunities for local people within the built environment sector including working with Constructed Pathways and the CITB under the National Skills Academy for Construction Framework.
