Sparkle, the winning design and highly commended designs

The new tower crane on site at Univ North has been named Sparkle, by Zoe Ryan. Zoe is a nursery-aged artist who won the “Name the Crane” competition organised by SDC, the Univ North contractors, and University College, Oxford.

Zoe’s excellent name was chosen to be displayed on the new crane. Her artwork and that of another four highly commended entries from the children have been displayed on hoarding at the Banbury Road entrance to the Univ North development. In addition, another 38 entries from equally creative children can be viewed below.

Jo Mason, Head of Childcare Services at the University of Oxford, said:

“At University Childcare Services we are very excited to be working with Univ on the development of their new nursery and what better way to launch this partnership than to have a ‘Name the Crane’ competition. Our children love all things construction, and this competition was an excellent opportunity for them to use their creative skills. We are very much looking forward to bringing our high-quality childcare provision to the new development at Univ North. We can’t wait to see more children enjoying the wonderful nurturing environments that our nurseries bring.”

Angela Unsworth MBE, Domestic Bursar at University College, Oxford, and lead for the new nursery, said:

“Every kid loves a big truck, don’t they? So, when we were approached by SDC, our construction contractor, with this great idea for a competition, University Childcare Services, our future partners in running our nursery, came immediately to mind.

“Sooner than we know it, we’ll have 54 childcare spaces on site in a beautiful new nursery with a garden to inspire creative outdoor play. Kids Planet, through the University Childcare Services, will be managing the nursery for us – it’s a collaboration that we’re delighted to be involved with. And the opportunity for a great many more drawings of SDC hard hats, diggers and trucks will be too good to miss!”

David Heard, Project Director, SDC, said:

“We’ve loved running this ‘Name the Crane’ competition with Univ and the University of Oxford’s Childcare Services. We’re giving local children and their families an opportunity to get involved in the Univ North development and learn a little bit more about what we do – this is especially important as we’re currently constructing a new 54-place nursery, which is part of the Univ North scheme.

“We were really pleased with all the competition entries received and it was very difficult to choose a winner. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into the competition and there was lots of good colouring and a great selection of names. Now the tower crane has been erected, we’re looking forward to progressing the works on site this year!”

Our newly developed Univ North site, where the College’s students have been living for 50 years, will host the new children’s nursery, which will offer childcare in a modern, high-quality renovated building with an inspiring outdoor area to drive a child’s curiosity for the natural world.

Childcare is an important topic for many families and good quality childcare can be difficult to access. At Univ we recognise this and hope that by collaborating with the central University of Oxford’s Childcare Services, our students, staff, and academics can benefit from not just this addition to the nursery offering, but a priority place at any of the five University nurseries (subject to availability), which are now run by Kids Planet.

We aim to support our students, staff, and academics to achieve the very best standards in their education, work and research, and the environment in which the collegiate community live and work is an integral part of achieving this success. Changing family dynamics lead to changing priorities and time constraints, we hope that by increasing childcare provision we’ll be able to support more of our families, particularly during their academic journey.

Entries for the Name the Crane competition

Published: 21 February 2024

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