26 July 2013
Eastbrook Primary School from Portslade picked an excellent week to visit the Port, with the sun shining and the Port a hive of activity. Children from year 5 arrived, were divided into three groups and embarked on an action packed schedule, first visiting the crew on resident ship the ‘Watchful’. The groups then visited the Port’s dry dock, the only one of its kind on the South Coast, before heading over for a tour aboard the Port’s tug ‘Adurni’.
The groups followed onto Harbour Radio where they were shown how the lock gates are operated and the complex navigational systems used to track ships from miles out at sea. The groups then visited the dive store, where they had the rare opportunity to try on some of the diver’s equipment.
All were surprised by the weight of the diver’s helmets and the time it takes to secure everything in place before jumping in the water.
The groups then congregated on Southwick Beach to enjoy the views and reflect on everything they had seen and learnt during the morning. After a few hours of fresh sea air, the children were keen to return to school for some lunch!
Elaine Ross, Year 5 Teaching Assistant at Eastbrook Primary School commented on the trip “It was a fantastic opportunity to see behind the scenes of the Port, the children thoroughly enjoyed learning about all the different aspects of the business. I was very proud of the variety of questions asked by the children. The Port staff were fantastic and really made it a trip to remember, and it was a lovely end to our school year”.
Rodney Lunn, Chief Executive at Shoreham Port added “As a trust port we place great importance on supporting our local community. Inviting schools to visit the Port and learn about what we do is one way we can achieve this. Thanks to our dedicated team we are able to offer some educational visits to the Port which provide a valuable insight into the workings of a busy commercial port”.
