Pupils name new Sunderland housing development

Pupils at Wessington Primary School, in Washington, have helped to create a legacy at a housing scheme in Glebe by helping to come up with the name of Gentoo Homes’ new development.

Gentoo Homes enlisted the support of the pupils as part of a competition it ran in conjunction with the school, asking for ideas to name their new 59-home site in the heart of Washington.

The winning name was masterminded by Year 3 pupil Rio Miyauchi who came up with ‘Orchard Quarter’, naming the development after the Orchard that overlooks the site from nearby Princess Anne Park.

Pupils of all ages took part in the project, which involved them researching the history and heritage of Washington and the surrounding area, as well as thinking about how potential names may affect the image of the area and be perceived by Gentoo’s potential customers.

Gentoo Homes is in the process of redeveloping the previously vacant land off Parkway Road, adjacent to the AMF Bowling Alley in Washington, with 59 new homes currently under construction.

There is a mixture of two, three and four-bedroomed properties available to buy on the site, as well as a small number of affordable homes to rent.

Diane Sykes, Business Manager at Wessington Primary School, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have helped Gentoo Homes name the Orchard Quarter development in Glebe. It’s been a really interesting project for our pupils to get involved in and they have loved the engagement with Gentoo Homes.

“We’ve also done some really important work around the dangers of the construction site which has been really important given the proximity of the site to our school. We’d like to thank Gentoo Homes for involving us.”

Anthony Lowther, Assistant Director at Gentoo Homes, said: “For a Year 3 pupil to come up with such a contemporary and relative name for the site is outstanding.

“We’d like to thank Rio and all of the pupils who took the time and effort to research the area and come up with some fantastic naming ideas. We pride ourselves on building thriving communities and it’s been great to involve the pupils in our homebuilding process and also to build such a good relationship with the school.”