Osborne Mascot Rosie Celebrates her First Birthday!

Osborne’s mascot Rosie is this week marking her first birthday, after a whirlwind 12 months have seen her visit Osborne projects and engage with hundreds of local people across the South of England.

Rosie hit the ground running with a tour of Osborne head office in Reigate, closely followed by Osborne sites and the pace hasn’t slackened yet!

In the past year Rosie has visited schools in Waltham Forest, Winchester, Hemel Hempstead, Isleworth and Southampton to help give construction safety talks; she has been the life and soul of the party at numerous community events; she has helped lead a school road safety campaign; and has cheered on cyclists at the last leg of the Aviva Women’s Tour in Dacorum.

A highlight was a visit to St George’s Beneficial Church of England Primary School in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to introduce the young students to the exciting world of construction.

The children were learning about builders as a topic and Rosie worked with the Osborne team at the local £7 million The Hard transport interchange, to help really bring the subject to life.
Rosie and members of the local Osborne team spent a day with the children explaining the different types of machinery used on building sites, the variety of roles and most importantly, the equipment used to keep everybody safe.

The budding engineers were able to explore some of the safety equipment Osborne uses on a daily basis including hard hats, goggles and gloves. Many students said this was their favourite part of the day.
Joey and Olivia, pupils at St Georges said: ‘I liked the bit when we got to wear the builders’ stuff’ and ‘I liked Rosie, I liked her hard hat and I liked the glasses she wore!’.

Mrs Lyndon, Class Teacher from St George’s Beneficial Church of England Primary School, said: ‘The children really enjoyed the visit from Osborne. They particularly enjoyed meeting Rosie and playing with the hard hats, goggles and hi-vis jackets, using them in their roleplay Builders’ Yard.’

Osborne Trainee Engineer, Jack Cottrell, said: ‘Being able to interact with the children was fantastic. Rosie was a huge success and I feel that everyone truly engaged with the presentation. I am glad that the pupils enjoyed an insight into the exciting industry in which we work.’

Rosie’s second year will continue in the same vein, with a host of visits and events already planned – many of which will help mark Osborne’s other big birthday this year: its 50th!

Upcoming events with Rosie will include a community day in Hemel Hempstead where she will enjoy the outdoor activities with locals and at a school in Waltham Forest where she will help to judge the children’s safety posters.

Osborne is marking its 50th anniversary throughout 2016, but a particular initiative is search for a community project it can build for free. This will be a scheme anywhere in the Midlands or South of England and could be to extend a hospice or a day centre or similar community facility.