Year 4 pupils were privileged recently to visit a huge, new infrastructure project commissioned by the Welsh Government around Merthyr Tydfil, called A465: Section 5 and 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun.
This important road project – and spectacular feat of engineering – is known as the A465 Heads of the Valleys Section 5 and 6. The project will extend between Hirwaun and Dowlais Top for 11 miles, creating a dual carriageway with 6 junctions.
The Construction Manager at FCC Construccion Company – the top-36 international contractor in the world – invited the class to look at the design and engineering, scale and intricacies of the development and discuss how this will benefit the community moving forward.
This project, which began in 2020, has been awarded to the Future Valleys consortium, where FCC is the lead partner, and it is now the largest infrastructure project in Wales.
The project aims to improve traffic flow and make it safer for drivers, especially around junctions and areas with poor visibility, while also improving access to key services, jobs and markets supporting inward investment to areas like the Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone.
This visit, like many of the trips and excursions at Westbourne School, allows children to engage with the curriculum they are learning. By interacting with real-life situations, experiences and hearing first-hand about jobs within leading industries, pupils develop a better understanding of the topics they are studying in class, helping them to retain the information and use that as a basis for future knowledge and learning.
