Site Visits in October 2025

Starting with a field trip to our beautiful city in September for the new undergraduate students in Construction, there have been some great site visits this month (thanks to Max Muncaster and Jeremy Price for the photos)...

Oxford fieldtrip for the new undergraduate students

Next stop...Blackbird Leys. A group of first year students in Construction made a site visit to a housing project in Blackbird Leys on 22 October. The trip was lead (and photographed) by Jeremy Price and Max Muncaster and hosted by Hill Group.

And back on campus for a site visit on 23 October...thanks to Steve Vaux, Operations Director at Morgan Sindall for arranging for our first year students taking the module 'Introduction to Construction Practice' to visit the current project to fit out Block C for Clive Booth Student Village. The focus of the visit was to look at the way Morgan Sindall are managing quality and managing health and safety.

And finally, the 4th year students went on a site visit on 21 October to Cherwell College to see the additional floor being added to the student accommodation at the college. Thanks to our part-time student (Sam Bourke) who works for Savvy Construction for organising. The visit was for students taking the module in construction project management - specifically to look at construction sequence, change control and risk management.

For more information on our undergraduate courses in Construction, take a look here:

BSc Building Surveying

BSc Construction Project Management

BSc QS and Commercial Management

Development Projects - Field Trip to London

At 10 Gresham Street

A group of first year students in Construction went on a field trip to London on 7 February. The trip was hosted by Mace and focused on sustainability in construction and development. Emphasis on sustainability is part of a wider approach being adopted by modern construction organisations to prioritise measurable success in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). Companies like Mace are now managing their projects in ways where the impact on the environment together with impact on society can be measured. Success in ESG is becoming essential for society where individual health and wellbeing, respect for cultural heritage and sustainable business can flourish. Thanks to Max Muncaster for the photos.

The students visited 3 projects: Panorama St Paul's (81 Newgate Street) where the redevelopment of former BT offices to increase net internal area (NIA) apply circular economy principles...

10 Gresham Street- a phased retrofit, including an additional floor and wellness upgrade of existing offices while still partially occupied, again with circular economy principles applied...

And finally, Peninsula Gardens a development of new apartments in tower blocks (up to 35 storeys high) as part of the urban village being developed on the Greenwich Peninsula. These apartment blocks overlook the River Thames and are constructed with off-site manufactured kit of parts.

Take a look at the School of the Built Environment and the courses we offer here and link to our undergraduate courses in Construction here:

Building Surveying (BSc (Hons))

Built Environment Foundation (Foundation course)

Construction Project Management (BSc (Hons))

Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management (BSc (Hons))

PG Construction: 2023 and 2024

 I feel that I have been neglecting this blog a bit since we started the Instagram page for @oxfordbrookesconstruction so here is a summary of some of the things that have been going on for the postgraduate students in Construction at Oxford Brookes (it's all on Instagram). Let's start back in May 2023 with our first PG social event...

In May 2023 we held our first networking evening at Headington Hill Hall bringing together students, alumni and staff from postgraduate construction courses @oxfordbrookes. It was a huge success.

Towards the end of May 2023, a group of postgraduate construction students went on a field trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. They stopped in Antwerp to look at the Museum aan de Stroom and the port building (designed by Zaha Hadid) and then continued to Amsterdam. During the trip the students looked at sites and listened to presentations about locations in Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, Rotterdam and Delft finishing with a stop over in Bruges on the way back to Oxford.

On 11 August 2023, a group of postgraduate students in Construction visited two sites in Oxford the Life and Mind Building and the Schwarzman Humanities Building. The visits were organised by the new PG Construction Student/Alumni Committee. 

In early September 2023: Graduation!

Later on in September 2023, we welcomed a new intake of students onto the PG Construction courses. Shortly after they arrived a group of them went off to explore Oxford (in the rain). They also started to form a student committee (coffee essential)...

The Built Environment Careers Fair takes place every year in October and is an excellent opportunity to network with employers, students and alumni...

At the end of October 2023, a group of PG students and staff went on a field trip to Manchester via the Midlands. First stop: Coventry and a visit to Prism Offsite Manufacturing and then on to Manchester where the students visited @factory_international at Aviva Studios, Salford University, Salford Quays and the Urban Splash development as well as taking a look around the city. The final stop was Birmingham where the students visited Curzon Street, Birmingham Library, the Bullring, the canal and Brindley Place.

Prism Manufacturing, Coventry

In Manchester

Urban Splash development in Salford

By the canal in Birmingham

In November 2023, we held the second student/alumni networking event at Headington Hill Hall. Advice from alumni, an jntroduction to the work of the student/alumni committee, the offer of a cricket match, pizza, drinks and networking. And live music from Adrian.

With the student/alumni committee up and running, a trip to London was organised for December 2023. The students visited Battersea Power Station for a site visit and presentation on the redevelopment and then moved on to Turner & Townsend where they were given a presentation on the graduate scheme. They finished off the day with a visit to St Pancras Square, Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard (King's Cross) before spending the evening in Covent Garden.

As we have two entry points for our MSc/PGD courses in Construction, we welcomed a second intake of students in January 2024 - they went for a look around Oxford (of course)...

Did you know that Oxford Brookes is undertaking a major development at Headington Hill? The new buildings should be ready in early 2025. Staff and students went to see progress on the new building at the end of February 2024...

A small group of students went to have a look at the building work taking place at Clive Booth Hall on the Headington campus - they found it a very instructive experience...

A group of postgraduate students from Construction went on a site visit to North Oxford on 9 May. An excellent visit and a beautiful day! 

During May 2024, a group of postgraduate students and staff from went on a field trip to Paris and called in at Lille on the way. During the trip, they visited a number of offices and buildings and investigated a series of sustainable construction case studies. They also gained an understanding of the European employment market. 

At the end of May 2024 we held our 3rd networking evening bringing together PG students and alumni in Construction. Thanks to the Student/Alumni Committee for organising and to all the students, alumni and staff who helped make it a success.

And that is it until Graduation on 2 September 2024! A busy two years. For more information about the PG courses in Construction, take a look here and follow along on Instagram here: @oxfordbrookesconstruction.