Hackthorn and Cold Hanworth Village Hall has been given a new lease of life thanks to students from Lincoln College.

Today, the village hall committee welcomed the painting and decorating students from the college’s Lincoln and Gainsborough campuses to a celebratory lunch to thank them for all their hard work.

The hall, which is used for a variety of community activities and celebrations, had fallen into disrepair in recent years until Pam Tredwin, Secretary of Hackthorn Village Hall Committee, got in touch with Director of Construction and Engineering at Lincoln College Kevin Williams to ask for help.

Kevin’s colleagues, Paul Wilcockson and Kevin Davey, visited the hall to assess the suitability of the property and the viability of the project. Following their visit Paul and Kevin agreed to provide the expertise, while the committee paid for the paint and other materials.

The team at Lincoln College also brought in Richard Wiles, Specification Account Manager from Akzo Nobel (Dulux), to provide technical support and advice.

Richard went one step further and arranged for the committee to collect samples and purchase paint and materials for a discounted price from the Dulux Decorator Centre.

Kevin Davey, Programme Manager at Lincoln College’s School of Construction and Engineering, said: “Opportunities like this offer real-life work experience for our students which will stand them in good stead for the future.”

Since January, teams of painting and decorating students have been busy refurbishing the Grade II listed hall as part of their course work.

Tasks included the repair and redecoration of the walls and the sanding down and painting of the wooden floor. The stage was given a new look and woodwork throughout the hall was brightened up.

Paul Wilcockson, Painting and Decorating Lecturer at Lincoln College, said: “I’ve been impressed by the students as they dealt with the challenges involved in refurbishing the hall and have done a fantastic job.

“Not only have they been able to gain valuable hands-on experience, the project has also resulted in a great sense of ownership and pride.”

Following the recent completion of the project the committee decided to invite the students back to the hall to enjoy a special celebratory lunch as a thank-you for their hard work.

Speaking during the lunch Chair of the village hall committee Sue Graves congratulated the students, saying: “The hall had become shabby and uninviting, but thanks to you the main hall and small back room have been totally transformed. We are immensely grateful and thrilled to bits with the results.” 

Ends

Notes to Editors

About Lincoln College
• Lincoln College is the largest educational institution in the county with 10,000 students across three campuses in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Newark.
• It is the largest provider of business training and skills in Lincolnshire providing training for around 1,200 businesses in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
• The college is rated Outstanding by Ofsted and has a wide range of full, part-time and short courses for students aged 16 and above, including university-level courses.

About The Lincoln College Group:
• Founded upon a concept of ‘synergy’, The Lincoln College Group comprises a number of like-minded organisations with a shared purpose of providing exceptional education, training and related services to their students.
• Currently providing secondary, further and higher education, the Group includes Lincoln College (with its campuses in Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough and operations in China) and two secondary school academies: The Newark Academy and The Gainsborough Academy. It also encompasses Deans Sport and Leisure, a commercial sports centre based in Lincoln City Centre.
• Lincoln College International, a project to develop and run three Colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the latest addition to the Group.
• The Lincoln College Group is also the lead sponsor of the Lincoln UTC which opened in September 2014.

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Kate Strawson
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