Inspiring the next generation of women in construction

13th October 2026

Skillcrown recently teamed up with The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls to deliver a hands-on construction challenge for Year 7 pupils, designed to introduce them to the wide range of careers available across the property and construction industry.

The challenge centred around a unique brief: to design a brand-new home for the school’s own farm.

Working in their form groups, the pupils were asked to develop proposals to relocate the existing farm elsewhere within the school grounds.  Their ideas needed to consider far more than simply the appearance of the buildings, with each group thinking carefully about sustainable materials, energy efficiency, animal welfare, student safety, accessibility and how the farm would operate on a day-to-day basis.

Throughout the day, the pupils worked together to develop their ideas, create physical models and prepare presentations explaining the thinking behind their proposals.

The challenge concluded with each group presenting to a judging panel, with the quality and creativity of the work making the final decision particularly difficult.  A winning class was eventually selected, with each pupil receiving an Amazon voucher in recognition of their efforts.

The event formed part of Skillcrown’s wider commitment to supporting young people and encouraging greater diversity within the construction industry by giving students an early insight into the variety of roles and opportunities available.

A huge thank you to everyone at The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls for welcoming us and helping to make the day such a success.  Thank you also to Matt Arnold and Theo Wheadon for organising the event and helping bring the challenge together.

If the day has encouraged even a handful of pupils to consider a future career in property or construction, it will have achieved exactly what we hoped.

Judging by the quality of their ideas, the future looks bright.