Sheffield Forgemasters, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary, has partnered with Hillsborough Primary School to showcase the importance of steel to the city. Ryan Edmonds, operations director, visited Year 3 pupils at the school earlier this month to talk about why steel was prevalent in Sheffield, how it is made and how steelmaking has shaped the city as part of a geography project.
The visit was made as part of Sheffield Forgemasters’ approach to Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, which sees the company regularly engage with children and school-leavers to illustrate the highly skilled careers that STEM learning can offer.
Mr Edmonds said: “Visiting the children at Hillsborough Primary School was a real treat for me, and the interest shown by the pupils in the city’s steel history and its future is really encouraging. There has never been a better time for young learners in Sheffield to learn about the way that steel created their home city, or to look at the great opportunities that STEM now provides as we deliver on our £1.3 billion recapitalisation to keep the industry at the forefront of manufacturing excellence.”
He continued: “As we celebrate 250 years of history, it is crucial that we reach out to the next generation of innovators, and the children at Hillsborough Primary School were incredibly bright and inquisitive to learn more.”
Women of SteelThe schoolchildren saw how Sheffield Forgemasters emerged from the innovation of George Naylor, who in 1776 built a crucible steel furnace at Attercliffe, making a diversion from cutlery manufacture to pursue steelmaking. They also learned about the many famous names which make up Sheffield Forgemasters’ heritage, how the ‘Women of Steel’ took over wartime steel production, and how the environmental effects of industry over time are being improved through steelmaking efficiencies and the recycling of steel.
Jessica Harvey, Year 3 teacher and personal development lead, said: “It was a real bonus to hear from Ryan about how Sheffield was shaped through the steel industry, his presentation really brought the topic to life for our year threes and created a new tranche of budding steelworkers! The history was fascinating, we heard about the famous Women of Steel but who knew that Sheffield had its own Indian Elephant working in the steelworks during the First World War or that some American churches still use Sheffield steel bells from the 1800s?”
She added: “Although the visit tied in with a geography project, the STEM interest means that we will be looking forward to working more closely with one of the world’s most famous, and historic steel companies in the future.”
Sheffield Forgemasters incorporates some of the world’s most famous steel and defence manufacturers, including Vickers, William Jessop, Thomas Firth, John Brown, Armstrong-Whitworth, and Supermarine.