Two years of hard work has forged a partnership between a Tilbury company and an Ockendon school, who together have won a tremendous award.

The Ockendon School in Erriff Drive, and Cargill plc started working together in 1999, developing an unused part of the school as a pond and to investigate the ecological structure of a medieval drain, the Botney channel, running through the company's site.

On Thursday the school was presented with £1,000 by the Careers, Research and Advisory Centre in Cambridge for securing the Most Effective and Outstanding Partnership in the Ford-sponsored CRAC awards scheme.

Barbara King, headteacher at the school, said: "The school and Cargill have developed a partnership which has grown far beyond what was first envisaged."

And judges expressed their admiration for the partnership, saying: "The partnership is now embedded into both the school and company communities, where they are committed to, and focused on, culture change for both.

"An amazing array of activities has grown out of the initial project idea of two years ago."

The judges added: "The partnership has become more important than any single project and is now a catalyst for work- and career-related learning opportunities for students, for development of both staff and curriculum, and as a vehicle for culture change in both organisations.

"The partnership team operates as if they are two elements of one organisation."

Year nine pupil Beth Stevens - along with year ten colleagues Jo Munday and Jenny Rayner - have played an important role in the scheme.

Published Monday December 17, 2001