TEACHERS from a consortium of the Wyre Forest and Hagley areas took part in a special exercise to help shape plans for the future of a major regeneration area.

A total of 27 teachers from the ContinU Trust took part in the professional development day at King Charles I School.

As part of the ReWyre Initiative, Wyre Forest District Council and its partners, which includes the school, are undergoing a masterplanning exercise for the Churchfields area of Kidderminster.

Teachers from Haybridge High School and Sixth Form, The Bewdley School and Sixth Form Centre, Wolverley CE Secondary School, Baxter College and Stourport High School and VIth Form Centre, were equipped with cameras and clip boards to explore what makes the Churchfields area unique.

The teachers later returned to King Charles I School to prepare a talk on their findings, presented to Jane Puzey, head of cultural programmes at West Midland’s charity MADE, which is working with the council’s masterplanning team.

Young people at the school had previously completed this exercise, as “a raising achievement through community engagement activity”.

Ken Harrison, policy and regeneration manager at the district council, said: “As part of the public consultation for the masterplan, the team are looking to gather evidence from a variety of different sections of the community.

“The views expressed at the teachers visit will certainly provide us with another useful perspective on the area.”