L-r: Marfleet Primary School Business Manager Sue Walker with Chloe McCloud, Lewis Carrick, Oliver Wilson, Charlie Cameron-McClane, Olivia Nickerson, Head Teacher Rachael Butler and Lucy Silvester (image courtesy of ABP
Pupils at Hull’s Marfleet Primary School will benefit from a dedicated space designed to provide a relaxing, informal environment in which to read, thanks to funds raised by ABP.
Staff at the company’s four Humber ports spent 2014 raising £70, 000 in order to help the school build a much-needed additional classroom. Plans for the new teaching space were approved in 2015 and the new classroom will be built this year. However, in order to provide a quiet reading area for pupils to use straight away, the school has spent some of that money on an outside space where children can take their books and enjoy them away from the classroom.
ABP Port Manager for Hull and Goole Mark Frith said: “It’s great to see a school responding to the needs of its pupils in such an innovative way and we’re delighted we could help provide the children with a great space in which they can read and enjoy their books, away from the hustle and bustle of the classroom.”
The ‘reading shed’, which is located in the playground close to the main building, has been modified by the school to include fairy lights, beanbags and boxes of new books.
Marfleet’s Head Teacher, Rachel Butler-Reid said: “The school is currently without a library so it’s fantastic to be able to give the children a safe place they can go to read and enjoy their books. With this space we are encouraging the children to read for pleasure and this new facility will make it just that.
“The space has been designed to be comfortable so the children can relax and fully absorb what they’re reading, and as well as scheduled teaching groups, they can also choose to use the reading shed during breaks and playtime if they’d like to.
“The building has been in place since before Christmas and most of our pupils have already used it. They absolutely love going in there to read.”
Lucy Silvester (9) uses the reading shed whenever she can. Her favourite books are the Dork Diaries series and the Harry Potter books.
She said: “I love it when we all go in and start reading. The books and the decorations and the beanbags make it really nice. I use it every time I get the chance.”
Lewis Carrick (9), agrees. He also loves to read and his favourite books are Horrid Henry and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
He said: “I like to go in and sit with my friends to read, it makes it really fun and reading is much more nice and relaxing.”
- ABP is the UK’s leading ports operator with 21 ports and other transport related businesses creating a unique national network capable of handling a vast array of cargo.
- Around one quarter of the UK’s seaborne trade passes through ABP’s Statutory Harbour Areas.
- ABP contributes £5.6 billion to the UK economy every year and supports 84, 000 jobs. Our current investment programme promises to deliver an extra £1.75 billion for the economy every year.
ABP…
- Handled over 1.6 million vehicles in 2014.
- Generates around one quarter of the UK’s rail freight
- Has 1.4 million square metres of covered storage
- Has 1000 hectares of open storage
- Handled 94.5m tonnes of cargo in 2014
- Owns 5000 hectares of port estate
- Has 87km of quay
Over the next five years, ABP is investing over £650 million in a wide range of major projects across the group.
ABP Humber
The four ports of Grimsby, Immingham, Hull and Goole handle more than 61 million tonnes of cargo between them each year.
Grimsby and Immingham form the UK’s busiest trading gateway and move around 50 million tonnes of cargo per annum.
£130-plus million is currently being invested in the biomass handling terminal in Immingham, in a Humber-wide agreement with Drax Power Ltd that has seen £25 million invested in a biomass handling facility in Hull. The Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal handles sustainable biomass shipments and will create over 100 permanent jobs once complete. The construction phase created 100 employment opportunities.
The Port of Hull handles 10 million tonnes of cargo per annum and is the is the focal point for the development of the UK’s largest offshore wind turbine manufacturing, construction, assembly, and service facility, which will be located on the Port’s Alexandra Dock. This new facility represents a £310 million investment and will create up to 1000 direct jobs.
The Grimsby River Terminal represents an investment of £26 million and allows large car-carrying ships to berth outside the Port’s lock system. This development confirms the Port’s position as the UK’s leading automotive handling facility.
More than the equivalent of 1million teus (twenty foot equivalent unit) of unitised trade is shipped through ABP Humber ports.
Goole is situated 50 miles upriver and is the UK’s premier inland port. It handles over one million tonnes of cargo annually.
