A group of Year 10 students have spent the day at Bishop Auckland College trying out a variety of specialist trade-based courses ranging from joinery and bricklaying to hair dressing and catering. Students were able to opt in to two sessions each and take part in mini tasks to help them decide if they might like to discover more once they have completed their GCSEs.

In Catering, students followed a recipe to make both fruit scones and chocolate chip cookies whilst learning about kitchen hygiene and organistion, and in the Construction Department, students were challenged with building their own brick wall using a spirit level to see how straight they could make it. Those on the joinery taster session learned how to use a hand saw correctly and make a dovetail joint, which is commonly used in furniture making and timber buildings because of its strength and resistance, whilst in the Hair and Beauty Department, students developed skills in a variety of plaited hairstyles using the training heads.

Some students also joined sessions in Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Art and Design; aspiring mechanics learned how to remove a wheel from a car and used specialist machinery and techniques to remove the tyre from the rim and reinstall it effectively, and artists designed and created a poster which depicted what had helped them to emotionally cope with lockdown.