McPhillips art competition showcases pupils’ view of a construction site
Artwork by pupils at a Telford primary school, depicting what they think happens on a typical construction site, is on display in the heart of Telford.
Leading Shropshire construction company McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd invited children from Hollinswood Primary School to submit their drawings and paintings for a competition.
Four lucky prizewinners were chosen, and now all of the pictures are on display at Addenbrooke House, the site of Telford College’s new dedicated sixth form centre.
Earlier this year, award-winning McPhillips was appointed by Telford & Wrekin Council to deliver the sixth form centre as part of an £80million regeneration scheme. The project will see Addenbrooke House – the former offices of the council – transformed to create new opportunities for hundreds of young people studying A levels.
Both Chris Walker, McPhillips project director and Martin Hill, McPhillips project manager, visited the school to judge the competition.
Chris said: “Many of the children at Hollinswood Primary School may well go on to be students at the sixth form centre, so it simply made sense to find a way to involve them in the project from the outset. A big thank you to the staff and pupils that made this happen.
“The standard of entries was just incredible, and it was really interesting to see the children’s perceptions of a construction site. There were lots of diggers and cranes, and quite a lot of hard hats - perhaps some of them will go on to be our construction workforce of the future!”
EYFS and school art lead, Grace Atkinson, said: “We were delighted when McPhillips approached us to take part in the construction artwork competition.
“Addenbrooke House is such a prominent and familiar building to many of our pupils, so we were happy to be involved in its ongoing transformation, while gaining some valuable insight into what life is really like on a construction site.”
The sixth form centre development is a crucial element of the wider Station Quarter project, which is bringing education and training facilities, housing and public realm improvements to Telford’s centre.
The building will complement The Quad – a recently opened facility housing Harper Adams University, a digital skills hub and business start-up centre.
The new facility will feature:
- State-of-the-art science laboratories for physics, biology and chemistry
- A dedicated drama studio
- An arts studio
- A specialist library
- Modern study spaces
The sixth form centre is scheduled to open in September 2026, alongside a £1.8 million-plus investment in Telford College’s Wellington campus, which will become a technical and vocational centre of excellence.
