The RICS South West Schools Competition winning team from Backwell School were recently treated to a very special tour of Bristol’s new £500 million Cabot Circus shopping centre.

Steve Wehrle, the Project Director at Bristol Alliance, started off the afternoon by presenting the team with their winners’ certificates for the 2007 RICS Schools Competition.

Then, after kitting up with safety gear, the girls and Geography teacher, Isobel George, were taken through the prestigious 1 million sq. ft. development.

The girls were amazed by the shear scale and complexity of operations and, far from being over-awed by the occasion, they were soon using their knowledge gained through the Schools Competition to check out the sustainability credentials of the development.

The RICS Schools competition, now in its eighth year, involved preparing and presenting proposals to sustainably regenerate a hypothetical waterfront site in central Bristol.

Backwell were among 21 teams taking part in the Geography and Sustainable Development Competition for sixth-formers, hosted by the University of the West of England and supported by the South West of England Regional Development Agency.

Tony Westcott, RICS South West Chair, surveying lecturer at the University of the West of England and organiser of the Schools Competition, commented:

“It was marvelous to see the infectious enthusiasm of real professionals bringing the girls’ school studies to life and giving them a brilliant insight to the exciting world and opportunities of property development and construction.”

On his recent visit to Bristol, RICS President David Tuffin described the Schools Competition as a world-leading initiative from Bristol that the RICS are looking to roll out in other regions of UK, Australia, Hong Kong and Europe.