June 2026
Students from Huyton’s Alt Bridge School received a hands-on introduction to the construction industry this week during a visit to a live project in Kirkby.
Delivered by local firm Sterling Services (Northern) Ltd and commissioned by Knowsley Council, the scheme is currently transforming the ground floor of the Kirkby Centre into a brand-new post-16 facility for Alt Bridge School, providing a dedicated educational environment for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
As part of the initiative, SEND students were invited directly onto the site for a trade taster day, allowing them to feel connected to the project and actively contribute to its progress. The event allowed the young people to step away from their traditional classrooms and experience an active building site firsthand, trying out practical skills such as joinery, plastering, and electrical work.
Paul Blennerhassett, Group Chairman of Sterling Services (Northern) Ltd, said:
“It was an absolute pleasure to see the children enjoying the practical hands-on workshops yesterday. We take enormous pride in being a Knowsley-based business, and that means we feel a genuine responsibility to invest in the people and communities around us. Seeing these young people on site yesterday, trying their hand at real trades, working alongside our supply chain partners and visibly lighting up, was one of the most rewarding days of this project.
“We hope it plants a seed for some of them, and here at Sterling Services, we are committed to continuing this engagement with Alt Bridge School as the project progresses. This is exactly the kind of work that reminds us construction isn’t just about buildings, it’s about what those buildings will be used for and the futures we help to build.”