Pupils from Irvine Royal Academy and Auchenharvie Academy visited the Hawkshill House housing development in Largs – as part of a radical education project being run by a local builder and Irvine Bay Regeneration Company.

The youngsters were guests of Billy Kirkwood of RobertRyan Homes, who is working with the regeneration project on an ‘i live’ project in which youngsters are being asked to come up with their own ideas of what social housing of the future should look like.

The cross-curricular work is designed to challenge the pupils to consider the environment and to design modern, social housing for the Irvine Bay area.

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Pupil groups are carrying out research in all curricular areas, including expressive arts, technology, health and well-being, social studies, science and maths.

Johnny Little, Curriculum for Excellence Co-ordinator at Irvine Royal Academy said: “The feedback from the visit from staff and pupils alike was absolutely fantastic. All were "blown away" by the houses and the tour/information provided by Billy. Everyone loved the experience.”

Patrick Wiggins, Chief Executive of Irvine Bay Regeneration Company, said: “We are happy to support this project, which allows us to engage with young people in a way that helps them learn about their environment by tapping into a lot of skills and learning across a number of areas.

“The success of the project owes a great deal to the fact that we have an enthusiastic ambassador in Billy Kirkwood.”

(GK)