Last week we welcomed over 50 students from Parkfield School to our Hurn production and extraction site.

As part of their GCSE course, the year 10 and 11 students have just started studying the changing UK economy, learning specifically about the minerals industry and how sustainable it is.

In order to safely take the students to all areas across the site, we used a tractor-trailer (which was quite a funny experience for all). We toured around the live extraction area, the students saw the wash plant that produces our products, the concrete operations on site, and our restoration.

The students were really impressed with our restoration works, especially learning that this is done alongside extraction, and the increase in biodiversity that quarrying can bring to an area through the restoration. They were also totally unaware that the extraction site existed across the road from where they study, and that the large fields were once quarried, before being returned to paddocks for local horses.

Rosie Bradley Da Silva, Geography Teacher commented: 'Thank you so much for organising such great visits. The students really enjoyed the trips and appreciated being able to get out of school and be in a different environment for the afternoon and see their learning in action. The year 11 students in particular heard a lot of new information that linked to their learning and the content they have studied, which they will be examined on in their upcoming GCSEs.'