On Monday 20th June Roma Agrawal opened a new building at Ark Chamberlain Primary Academy which pupils had chosen to name after The Shard structural engineer.
All 600 pupils gathered to watch the opening of the Agrawal Building either in person or on a live feed in the school hall. The ceremony included speeches from Principal Wendy Baxter, an Ark Chamberlain pupil, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham as well as a performance by the school choir.
Speaking after the event, Roma Agrawal said:
“It was an absolute honour to visit Ark Chamberlain Primary Academy and open the building which has so kindly been named after me. I was very inspired and impressed by the wonderful students and teachers I met and am very excited about their futures.”
During her visit Roma gave two assemblies – talking to pupils about her education and journey to become a civil engineer working on some of the world’s most iconic buildings. She was also interviewed for the academy radio show and viewed an art exhibition which featured pupil’s paintings of the buildings that she has worked on.
Principal of Ark Chamberlain Primary Academy, Wendy Baxter, said:
“It was wonderful to welcome Roma to Ark Chamberlain Primary Academy to open the Agrawal Building. After choosing to name the building after her the children were incredibly excited to meet her in person and hear about her inspirational journey.”
Roma Agrawal grew up in Mumbai, India and moved to London at 16 to study A levels. She studied physics at the University of Oxford and then did an MSc in structural engineering at Imperial College London. She has worked on London’s Shard – which she describes as a career highlight – The Lexicon Tower, Royal Mint Gardens and Crystal Palace Station refurbishment in London. Roma was a finalist in the IET’s Young Woman Engineer award 2012, and the winner of Young Structural Engineer 2011 by the IStructE.
Ark Chamberlain Primary Academy opened in September 2015. It is a five-form entry, mixed, non-denominational junior school (Years 3 – 6) located in Small Heath, Birmingham. The school motto is Respect, Believe, Achieve.
