crich area community news
Should quarrying be halted in the UK?
Year 5 and 6 pupils at our school have been working on a local quarrying topic. With visits to both our local quarry in Crich and Dene Quarry in Cromford, the children have studied the history and science involved in our local quarries. One of the questions they have addressed is whether quarrying should be halted in the UK.
Our first trip was to Dene Quarry, where Mr Selby-Sly, a local geologist, guided us around the perimeter of the quarry and told us all about the techniques used in quarrying today. We were lucky enough to arrive just in time to experience the daily explosion, which truly shook the ground! Afterwards, we visited the National Stone Centre and learnt about the creation of fossils, and found a few for ourselves!
Extracts from reports written by Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.
A quarry is a type of pit or mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Types of rocks extracted from quarries include Cinder, Chalk, China clay, Coal, Granite, Grit stone, Limestone, Marble, Phosphate, and Slate. The difference between mineral and rock is that a mineral is a naturally occurring solid with a definite chemical composition and a specific crystal line structure and a rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals, and may also contain organic remains or mineraloids.
There are thousands of quarries in the UK, but people are starting to question whether they are necessary. They have been around for thousands of years, but is it time for them to come to a halt?
Negative views of quarrying are the horrendous noise and vibrations, the bad effect they have on the landscape, and the lorries that are noisy and too big for a small village like Crich, where during rush hour they create chaos. However, quarries do not affect everyone because some people live in the cities, where quarries cannot be located.
On the other hand, many people like quarries because they help supply the materials to make roads, medicine, tablets, toothpaste, and buildings. Some of the minerals extracted from quarries are beautiful and are sold or put in the museum.
In conclusion, we need quarries, even if they pollute and are loud. Habitats are being destroyed, dust is flying loose, and there are lots of traffic jams. But quarries are a big part of modern life, and they help us in a variety of ways.
We would like to thank our local quarry for allowing us to visit and giving of their time in answering our many questions and giving us a fantastic tour of the site. Thank you also for supplying the children with safety jackets for our outdoor learning, and donating gravel for the paths that will be laid between our garden beds.
Quirky Quarry Facts
A dumper truck uses 300 litres of diesel a day.
Dene Quarry in Derbyshire moves 1000 tonnes of rock a day.
Crich Quarry in Derbyshire is 95 metres deep.
Crich in Derbyshire has had a quarry since 1792, that’s 217 years.
An 8-wheeled lorry can carry around 20 tonnes of stone.
Crich Village Schools Childcare Provision – New Developments
We are now in the seventh year of running our very popular Breakfast Club which serves both the Infant and Junior schools. Mrs Coppen’s toast, made from a selection of bread from The Loaf, is widely acclaimed as “the best toast in the world!”
Due to parental request, since April, we have extended our Childcare Provision to offer an After School Club to parents of both schools. The Club is very much a ‘home from home’ with children shopping for their own snacks, cooking, gardening, playing games, having a quiet read and taking part in lots of fun craft activities.
Our Childcare Team of five includes existing school staff, a parent and a governor. The Childcare Provision is managed by the Junior School’s Head Teacher which means we can offer a consistent ethos throughout the day.
For more details of either the Breakfast Club or the After School Club contact the school on 852384 or drop us an email at info@crich-jun.derbyshire.co.uk.
You can read previous articles from the Junior School in the archive.