A NEW state-of-the-art enterprise centre will be built at a local primary school to give pupils the skills they need to become the next Richard Branson or Alan Sugar.
Killingholme Primary School has been awarded a £150,000 grant from Phillips66, the American energy giant which runs the nearby Humber Refinery, for the project, which aims to give children an early introduction to the world of work.
The Phillips66 Enterprise Suite will provide a high-tech environment in which children will learn vital financial and business skills in order to improve their employment prospects.
Boasting iPads, computers, a meeting space and kitchen facilities, it will be used as a base from which pupils will launch their own businesses, marketing and selling products to parents and the wider community.
The would-be entrepreneurs will be mentored by workers from the refinery who will visit the schools to offer help and advice in their particular area of expertise.
Head teacher Sara Longmire said the new centre would "change the lives" of pupils at the school, which currently number 110.
Speaking at a special assembly at which the news was announced to children and parents, she said: "This is a big project that will have a massive impact on the lives of the kids.It will give the children the opportunity to experience the world of work from a very early age, developing the skills they need in order to create a business and become the next Richard Branson or Lord Sugar.
"So many local companies are telling us they need people to be financially literate, that have an understanding of how business works, and so we want to introduce that to the primary age child.
"We also want to give back to the local community and because we will have access to the latest technology we are looking to run training sessions for the wider community.
"This will make a massive difference to the lives of our pupils, and to the lives of future generations in Killingholme."
The funding has been awarded through Phillips 66's Signature Community Initiative Programme, which was set up to support projects in communities where the company has operational sites.
Bids for funding were submitted from plants across the globe, and following a rigorous selection process, the Humber Refinery's project was one of those chosen to receive funding – and the only one outside the United States.
At $240,000, the grant given to Killingholme Primary represents just under a quarter of the $1 billion pot awarded by the scheme.
The new centre, which has been designed by CR Parrott Consultants, will be built by TG Sowerby of Scunthorpe. Subject to planning permission, work is expected to get underway within the next couple of months, and is due to be completed in time for the 2014-15 academic year.
Nina Stobart, external affairs manager at the Humber Refinery, said the school would soon boast "the best classroom in the country."
She said: "Education is the key to a future and this will give the kids a head start and equip them from a very early age with the skills that are so sought after by employers.
"We have had links with the school for 40 years, and this is just the next stage in that longstanding relationship. To say I'm excited about this project would be an understatement."
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