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The Larkfleet Group of Companies (www.larkfleetgroup.co.uk) has handed over a model house to the Greater Peterborough University Technical College (GPUTC).

The scale model of a typical timber-framed house built by Larkfleet Homes can be taken apart and re-assembled using a set of drawings which Larkfleet has also supplied.

The model will help the school’s students who are studying the built environment to understand how a modern house is put together as well as getting to grips with topics such as architectural design and planning.

The model is also being used to make practical points about communications. In one test using the house, the plans are held by one group of students in one room and the model is with another group in a separate room. One student from the planning group has to carry instructions to the construction group in a time trial to see which team of students can correctly build the house most quickly.

GPUTC is a brand-new £12 million state-of-the-art technical school located on the Park Crescent Campus in Peterborough. Opened in September 2016, the school specialises in teaching engineering and the built environment alongside traditional A Levels and GCSEs to students aged between 14 and 19.

UTCs are unique in that they have sponsors and partners which play a large part in the way that students learn, from offering work experience, industry exposure and mentoring through to providing a guaranteed job interview upon completion of study.

Larkfleet has been involved with GPUTC since before the first plans were drawn up. A local ‘employer sponsor’ for the project, Larkfleet is supporting the school’s plans in a variety of ways. Larkfleet CEO Karl Hick sits on the school’s board of governors.

Larkfleet’s backing for GPUTC is part of a programme of support from the company for the local community and economy.

Karl Hick said: “Investing in the future of the construction industry by supporting local young people in their training and development has always been part of Larkfleet’s ethos. The model house is just one more way in which we are supporting the next generation of construction professionals.”

Steve Warburton, principal and CEO of GPUTC, said: “Larkfleet’s support is invaluable to our students in so many ways. The model house is just one more example of how the company is assisting us to provide real hands-on experience of industry that helps to prepare students for the world of work.”

The model has proved to be such a success at GPUTC that a similar one is now being produced for New College Stamford.