Saint Gobain Glass

With that in mind, French firm Saint Gobain Glass, which launched its £80 million UK float glass plant in Eggborough in 1998, has since gone out of its way to develop closer links between education and industry.

Over the last two academic years, for instance, the factory, which employs 160 people and produces 200,000 tonnes of flat glass a year, has engaged in and supported activity which has directly impacted on the education of about 1,500 young people across the Selby area through a variety of programmes and projects.

No surprises, then, that Saint-Gobain Glass UK has entered the best Business and Education Link category in the 2004 Evening Press Business of the Year competition.

By linking arms with the North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership, the factory has been working on a long-term curriculum project with schools in the locality, a project co-ordinated by Jill Hall, of Brayton College.

This has involved 11 primary schools, about 500 students, visits by seven primary school teachers on their own personal development programme, visits by two secondary school teachers and expeditions by 200 secondary education students.

Saint-Gobain has also twice sponsored the annual STEM Fair covering the whole of Selby for up to 450 stage one students; played host to Year Ten students from Selby High and Brayton College to support their studies in a new vocational qualification; and made contributions to the Selby Summer Enterprise Programme.

Updated: 11:23 Wednesday, August 11, 2004