Eve Bish, now 15, was so interested in what she saw and heard during a design technology visit to the new Les Quennevais School building site that she was invited to carry out work experience with builders Rok Construction.
That then turned into part-time work during the holidays, and now she has been promised a full-time contract and degree sponsorship once she has completed her A-levels.
And Eve, who is in Year 11 at Les Quennevais, now acts as the liaison between the construction firm and the school. She regularly shows people around the new school, which is due to open to students next September, and helps to feed back between the builders and the school.
And although she will only pick up her GCSE results from the new school and not actually attend lessons there, she will certainly have left her mark having helped to install everything from ceilings to windowsills. She also made sure her name was written into one of the concrete blocks used in the build.
‘The opportunity I have been offered by Rok is mind-blowing, it has set my future out for me and I have never been more proud of anything in my life,’ said Eve, who after her A-levels will study for a BSc (hons) in construction management while working for Rok.
‘It is an industry like no other and there are no other jobs like this.’
Asked what it is like being female in a male-dominated industry, she added: ‘I did find it a bit hard at first, but I get on great with the guys. I also think having me around is eye-opening for the guys on site because it is not just a guy’s job, girls can do it too. I know we don’t see women every day on site but it should be something that is becoming more normal.’
Once her training is complete, Eve hopes to one day work as a chartered civil engineer.
‘Hopefully I will then get to build something as wonderful as this new school,’ she said.
Eve’s mother Emma Bish said she was very proud of what her daughter had achieved.
‘Not many children at her age have any idea of what they want to do so for her to be so focused on what she wants to do is amazing and it helps channel her studies,’ she said.
‘The way Rok have helped her has been brilliant and Les Quennevais has been so supportive. They go that extra mile and I think it really shows.’
Les Quennevais deputy headteacher Paul Letch, meanwhile, praised the way the school’s staff and pupils had been allowed to get involved with the project at every stage.
‘Everybody has been great, Jersey Property Holdings, the architect and Rok have right from the start been really keen to work with the school, and the new school is being built with the students and their learning in mind. It has been about what will work best for our students and how can we involve our students in that.’
