AN ALLOA high school student has landed a work placement with Barratt Developments because of her outstanding contribution to a sustainable housing project.

Evie, a fifth year pupil at Lornshill Academy, was one of 34 pupils across Clacks and Stirling who took part in the FIDA Home Transformers Challenge.

This project, developed by Futures Institute at Dollar Academy (FIDA), asked the pupils to survey an 1860s cottage currently in a state of disrepair, and develop a plan to transform and make it sustainable.

Groups presented their plans and recommendations to an external judging panel at the end of the week’s workshops.

Evie led her group’s presentation, which included original ideas such as a grey water harvesting system, backed up by thorough research.

As a result of her outstanding work, she has been offered a work experience opportunity with Barratt Developments, supported by a bursary to cover travel and accommodation.

Ian Munro, rector of Dollar Academy and FIDA founder, said: “The Home Transformers Challenge was a fantastic success due to the commitment and imagination of all involved; our thanks go to the industry experts, judges and students for their efforts and contributions throughout the course.

“It was fantastic to collaborate with Barratt Developments on this project to provide our young people with real-life experience in driving change towards a sustainable future.

“Evie’s contributions throughout were excellent, and I am sure she will impress the Barratt team when she travels there to gain valuable industry experience and continue learning about sustainable property development.”

The FIDA project was hosted at Dollar Academy and brought together pupils from Alva, Dollar and Lornshill Academies and also Wallace High School in Stirling.

The groups of pupils worked to tackle key sustainability improvement areas including carbon reduction, energy consumption and biodiversity.

During the event, the pupils paid a visit to a Barratt construction site, giving them the opportunity to see current sustainability building practices in action.

Bukky Bird, group sustainability director at Barratt, said: “We are pleased to have been part of The Home Transformers Challenge and see the enormous contribution that it is making to young people.

“We look forward to hosting Evie on her placement and hope that this empowers her to have a successful career within the construction sector.

“Barratt’s support of the FIDA project is part of our nationwide schools outreach programme, which is a landmark in the construction sector.

“It aims to reach one million young people and to raise awareness of the wide variety of roles within the sector.”