St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School

Looking to the Future

Our curriculum statement clearly says that we want our children to develop skills and interests at St. Mary's that will set them up for life in the future. We also place a great importance on our children thinking about a future career, even whilst they are at primary school.

We are very proud of our relationship with local business 'What More UK'. CEO of the company, Tony Grimshaw, took an interest in our school when he saw what we were doing with waste plastics, amazed at how we had built our own outdoor classroom out of plastic waste. We have developed our relationship further and now our children regularly visit their huge factory in Burnley and enjoy a guided tour its many different facilities. They have the chance to ask about the jobs on offer there - from the factory floor to the offices - and what qualifications and skills they would need in order to gain future employment.

In the summer term, children in year 6 will get the chance to meet and listen to people from a wide range of career backgrounds. It is hoped that this will give them a clearer idea about future employment, the subjects they need for a chosen career and the importance of working hard to achieve their goals.

Please see below for press coverage of a recent trip to What More Factory in May 2022.

The pupils of St Mary’s RC Primary School in Clayton-le-Moors are an inspirational group of children. Their story of building an entire classroom outdoors went around the world and they were featured on the BBC. They are determined to give plastic a second life by making ecobricks – plastic bottles stuffed tight with single use plastic.

Responsible plastic housewares manufacturer Tony Grimshaw OBE (Director of What More UK) was invited to visit the school to see the project, and speak to them about the reuse of plastic and that ‘Not all Plastic is Drastic’. He returned the compliment by inviting them into the manufacturing premises of What More, just down the road in Altham, to see for themselves how recycling works for them.

What More creates reusable products from “single use” plastics, including for example, margarine tubs. The firm’s popular Upcycled range of housewares is made from 95% recycled post-consumer plastics. Every year, What More give a new lease of life to over 10,000 tonnes of recycled plastic, made up of both domestic and industrial waste.

The pupils were fascinated to see the size and scale of What More, and how they take environmental concerns very seriously.

What More also presented the visiting children with a bespoke engraved plaque during their visit, which was manufactured on their machinery.

Tony Grimshaw commented: “It was fantastic to have the children in our factory and be able to show them in real life how we care for the environment through all our processes. They will be able to take this knowledge back and carry on with their environmental work, and we wish them all the best in their futures!”

Garry Ireland, Operations Director at What More UK, said: “It was great to show children around who were so enthused about what we do, they asked lots of questions and it was a delight for me and my team to welcome them to What More.

“Some of the children showed real enthusiasm at learning all about our technology and I’m sure in the future some of them will become What More employees which will be a delight for us to support the local community.”

Stacey Mason, Class 5 teacher at St Mary’s RC Primary School, added: “We had an amazing day at What More, absolutely fantastic, we even got some goodies to take home with us. The children were amazed at the technology involved and the recycling. I’ve even learned a lot myself, it has been a wonderful day out.”

The school children are determined to continue making their ecobricks for bigger and more impressive projects in the future.

For more information about St. Mary’s Primary School in Clayton-le-Moors, including details of the ecobrick project and footage from the BBC North West’s coverage in 2019 visit www.st-marys-clayton-le-moors.lancs.sch.uk.

What More UK manufactures storage boxes and housewares of all kinds under the Wham brand including bakeware, around-the-sink items, products for the home laundry, utility room, and items for the garden like planters and troughs. What More’s products are all made in East Lancashire and are sold in 76 countries around the world.

Tony Grimshaw commented:

It was fantastic to have the children in our factory and be able to show them in real life how we care for the environment through all our processes. They will be able to take this knowledge back and carry on with their environmental work, and we wish them all the best in their futures!

Garry Ireland, Operations Director at What More UK, said:

It was great to show children around who were so enthused about what we do, they asked lots of questions and it was a delight for me and my team to welcome them to What More. Some of the children showed real enthusiasm at learning all about our technology and I’m sure in the future some of them will become What More employees which will be a delight for us to support the local community.

Stacey Mason, Class 5 teacher at St Mary’s RC Primary School, added:

We had an amazing day at What More, absolutely fantastic, we even got some goodies to take home with us. The children were amazed at the technology involved and the recycling. I’ve even learned a lot myself, it has been a wonderful day out.