Wynne Construction wins Wales STEM award for schools maths programme

Wynne Construction has won Educational Programme of the Year (Private Sector) at the Wales STEM Awards 2026 after delivering more than 150 hours of science, technology, engineering and maths activity to 2,766 pupils in 22 secondary schools across Wales.

The contractor was also highly commended in the STEM Collaboration of the Year category for its partnership with Careers Wales, according to Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW), which published the news alongside Wynne's own announcement.

The schools work took place during the 2025/26 academic year and included workshops, site visits, mock interviews, careers events and work experience placements, Wynne said.

Natasha Pryce, social value lead at Wynne Construction, said: "We are incredibly proud to win this award because engaging with young people and helping them understand the opportunities available within construction is something our teams are passionate about."

The programme

At the centre of the submission is a session called Maths in the Workplace, which Wynne devised and developed with Careers Wales. It uses drawings from live Wynne projects close to the participating schools.

Pupils take on the role of quantity surveyors, measuring rooms, calculating areas, pricing materials and applying percentage discounts. Wynne said the exercise is intended to build numeracy, problem-solving, teamwork and critical thinking.

The workshops are run by the firm's social value team, its degree apprentice quantity surveyors and its project managers, so that pupils meet people at different stages of a construction career.

Pryce said the Careers Wales partnership allows the firm to reach more young people than it could alone, and that the industry needs to engage pupils while they are still choosing subjects if it is to meet its future workforce and skills needs.

As part of the awards process, Pryce and Kayleigh Brummel, business engagement adviser at Careers Wales, gave a 15-minute presentation to the judging panel.

Wynne social value manager Craig Sweet and Anwen Phillips of Careers Wales attended the ceremony at Techniquest, Cardiff, on 1 October.

Phillips said: "Experiences like these help young people connect classroom learning with the world of work, broaden their understanding of the opportunities available and make more informed decisions about their future."

Background

The Wales STEM Awards are in their sixth year. Business Wales said the 2026 programme included separate Educational Programme of the Year categories for the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, as well as STEM Collaboration of the Year.

The win is not Wynne's first recognition for schools work. The firm won Most Innovative Support for Schools at the 2021 Careers Wales Valued Partner Awards, which recognised activity carried out under pandemic restrictions, including virtual health and safety sessions for pupils at Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng in Welshpool.

Wynne, founded in 1926 by Charles Wynne, describes itself as a fourth-generation family business and is marking its centenary in 2026. It has about 20 active sites across Wales and North West England and reported an order book of more than £325m in its centenary year, with £228m of work currently on site.

Bargoed housing contract

The same CEW item reported that Wynne has secured a contract with Caerphilly County Borough Council (Caerphilly Homes) to deliver up to 50 social rent homes across three sites in Bargoed, at Heol Coedcae, Western Drive and Park Drive. Wynne's own announcement describes its role as design and build main contractor for the Park Estate development.

Wynne said the scheme is expected to create employment and training opportunities, with the firm looking to recruit locally for site roles and to deliver social value activity during construction.

The plans comprise the following mix of homes, according to Wynne:

Home type	Number
Houses	11
Bungalows	7
Walk-up apartments	32

The homes are designed to Welsh Government quality standards, with flexibility so they can be adapted as residents' needs change.

Andy Garner, pre-construction director at Wynne Construction, said the three-site arrangement brings its own considerations around logistics, access and programming, and that the firm is looking at whether modern methods of construction could improve efficiency during the build. The Heol Coedcae plot has tight access and is surrounded by existing homes.

Cllr Shayne Cook, Caerphilly Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for housing, said demand for all types of homes is growing as the national housing crisis continues.

Wynne is now leading the technical design stage with the wider project team and supply chain, ahead of construction starting in spring 2027.