A look back at Building Plymouth’s inspiring Open Sites Week 2026

Building Plymouth’s Open Sites Week 2026 once again demonstrated why it is such a valuable initiative for the city. The programme brought together school pupils, university learners and participants from the Connect to Work programme, giving them first‑hand exposure to the wide range of careers within the construction and built environment sector. Across the week, groups were welcomed onto live sites, specialist centres and major developments, offering a rare and authentic insight into how Plymouth is being shaped.

The programme began on Monday at the Derriford Hospital development, where Willmott Dixon and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust hosted Year 9 students from Tor Bridge High. The group were taken onto Level 2 of the new A&E department to witness construction happening live — a dramatic start to the week. They also had the chance to navigate the project’s 3D digital model and hear from the professionals bringing the scheme to life.

Later that day, St Boniface’s Catholic College headed to the Cormac Notter Bridge Training Centre. Their visit included hands‑on activities such as bricklaying and traffic‑management exercises, giving them an authentic taste of industry training routes.

Tuesday continued to raise the bar. Tamar Crossings provided engineering students from Tor Bridge High with access inside the Tamar Bridge itself — an experience normally reserved for specialist staff. The group explored the mechanisms, structure and history of one of Plymouth’s most recognisable landmarks. Afterwards, Classic Builders welcomed students from Brook Green Centre for Learning to the Mountbatten Watersports Centre, where modern construction methods are being applied sensitively alongside heritage features.

The day rounded off with city‑centre tours led by Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure. These sessions offered students from St Boniface’s Catholic College and Connect to Work participants a closer look at the highly technical projects transforming central Plymouth, including the Civic Centre’s distinctive architecture.

On Wednesday, attention shifted to the important — and often less understood — field of demolition. Gilpin Demolition hosted learners from Transferable Skills Training at Barne Barton, demonstrating the planning, control and expertise behind safe deconstruction work. Later in the day, BAM UK & Ireland opened the doors to their Clinical Diagnostic Centre for a joint visit with students from Stoke Damerel Community College and Scott Medical and Healthcare College. They were introduced to the intricacies of constructing specialist healthcare environments, exploring challenges such as equipment installation and clinical layout requirements.

The day concluded with two visits arranged by Devon Contractors. University of Plymouth civil engineering students toured a live site and took part in a bricklaying activity supported by The Plym Group, while a second group — students from St Boniface’s Catholic College — enjoyed drone footage capturing the development’s progress and discussed the roles required to deliver a project of that scale.

On Thursday, the focus shifted to the consultancy side of the industry. AECOM hosted an engaging civil engineering workshop for students from St Boniface’s Catholic College. As well as hearing about the pathways into the profession, the group took part in an interactive wind‑turbine design challenge, allowing them to apply engineering principles in a creative way.

The final day of the programme brought together several standout experiences. Ward Williams led a practical introduction to project management and quantity surveying for students from Stoke Damerel Community College and Scott Medical and Healthcare College. Working within a defined budget, the teams designed a new school building before pitching their plans to a panel of “dragons” — a format that proved both enjoyable and confidence‑boosting.

Later in the day, students from Marine Academy Primary visited Sherford to explore an unwrapped home and take a walk through the award‑winning landscaping delivered by YGS Landscapes. The week came to a close with an inspiring architecture session delivered by Stride Treglown for students from Devonport High School for Boys, who were given a vivid insight into the creativity and problem‑solving involved in architectural design.

Across all five days, one message came through strongly: the construction industry offers far more variety, innovation and opportunity than many young people initially realise. By opening up live sites, specialist centres and design studios, Building Plymouth created experiences that were not only educational but genuinely eye‑opening. Attendees left with new skills, new connections and a much clearer sense of the many exciting pathways available to them across the city.