Peterborough High School and Steamtown have joined together to provide an external venue for students involved in the school program, Doorways to Construction.

The program provides practical and theoretical experience in a variety of construction-related skills leading in the long term to a white card allowing them to work on building sites.

The five students involved are Sam Slann, Josh Hampton, Tyler Mazzeo, Sam Evans and Jadyn Darling.

They are working at Steamtown in the refurbishment of a Sheep Van and loading ramp, which involves a number of skills including painting and replacement of timbers – including the roof, which will require a degree of precision being curved.

High school staff member, and supervisor, Noel Pratt said that the roof timbers needed to be soaked and then bent to the correct shape, in a similar manner to the art of Coopering, or barrel-making.

Mr Pratt said that students had shown a great deal of enthusiasm and enjoyment for the work they were carrying out, frequently waiting for him, in his vehicle, for transport to Steamtown on Fridays.

The students had also undertaken paving work and other projects over the two years Doorways to Construction has been running.

Other modules involved in Doorways to Construction include planning and organisation, estimates and costing, measuring and calculating, reading and interpreting plans,

and computer-aided design.

Steamtown’s volunteer coordinator Darryl Harvey, and Colin Workman, have been working closely with the five young men from their arrival at Steamtown.

“We’re very pleased to have the lads here as part of their school’s program and it’s plain that they are interested in what they’re doing,” Mr Harvey said.

It is hoped that future small projects could be conducted in cooperation with the high school, as part of the continuing development of Steamtown.