CONSTRUCTION students are volunteering their time to transform a special needs school.

Glasgow Clyde College joiners are fine-tuning their manual skills by repairing facilities at Kelbourne Park.

A team of eight has taken on construction tasks at the Maryhill school in classrooms and the playground.

George Hill, Senior Lecturer for Construction, said: "At the start of the project, the school's head teacher, Andrea McBeath, kindly took our group on a tour of the school where we got to speak to some of the children.

"All of us were truly moved by the completely positive outlook among the kids at Kelbourne Park Primary School.

"Most of the guys are from the Maryhill and Ruchill area themselves, so it's been truly heart-warming to see the way they have enthusiastically embraced this community project to help improve facilities for the kids at the school."

Mr Hill said the project has been of huge value to both the school and the young students.

The joinery trainees have carried out work to improve classrooms, guttering, and play facilities at the school for nursery and primary children who have additional needs.

The lecturer added: "Many of the boys would just keep on working if we didn't tell them to stop, and the educational value of the project has been immense.

"In addition to developing actual vocational skills, we spend time planning and organising materials and tools.

"The group have built up a real camaraderie, they now work together very well as a team and are gaining many other important employability skills."

Glasgow City Council's Enhanced Vocational Inclusion Programme (EVIP) awarded a grant of £1000 for the college-led project and provide a mentor, Fiona Duff, to accompany the group throughout their week at the college and while carrying out their community work at the school.

The project, which has also allowed participants to gain SQA units, will continue until the students complete their Skills For Work award in June.

Students paid four visits to the school in the run-up to the Christmas holidays.

So far, they have cleaned gutters that previously leaked water from an outside classroom, begun renovation of a wendy house and painted the inside of a classroom.

Now they are relocating the school's staff room, a job that will involve the students gaining experience in more technical joinery work.

Kelbourne Park head teacher Andrea MacBeath said: "We have a big garden area in the school and a great outdoor classroom.

"They are really well used resources but a lot of work is required to maintain them.

"I was absolutely delighted when I heard that EVIP were going to help us out.

"We have enough work to keep them busy for a while. The students have all been very enthusiastic and have even put in an extra few hours to get our outdoor classroom tidied up before Christmas."

Councillor Stephen Curran, Executive Member for Education and Young People, added: "This is partnership working at its best and I love the fact that our young people are helping in schools across the city and learning valuable life skills at the same time."