Employers visited an Egremont school to put students through their paces in preparation for life after education.

Guests from Sellafield Ltd, Gen2, Balfour Beatty, Lakes College and the National Nuclear Laboratory visited West Lakes Academy to show pupils what apprenticeships they can take up once they leave school.

The day included helping sixth form students to understand the different types of apprenticeships available, how the application process works and how they can be successful.

Current apprentices were on hand to share personal experiences, offer advice and answer questions.

Head of the academy's sixth form Rachel Denwood, who organised the event, said: "This year’s event has been bigger and better than ever! It has been great to see some of our ex-students coming in and sharing their apprenticeship experiences.

"The students were motivated and inspired by the sessions and we are hoping to run follow-on sessions from this event. I would like to say thank you to the companies and speakers involved."

And year 13 student Cerys Atkinson said: "Next year I am hoping to do a project management or degree apprenticeship, so hearing from former students who are now in apprenticeships was really useful.

"I have also learnt more about the opportunities from other companies in the area, which I

probably wouldn’t have known about without this event."

While year 12's Maisie Naylor said: "The apprenticeship day was a useful experience for me, for someone who’s not drawn to the idea of going to university it allowed me to find out about other opportunities in further education, particularly those that still result in a degree.

"I found the Gen2 section really helpful as it enabled me to speak to some of their current apprentices about their experiences. The whole day was really worthwhile."

Last year's event included a visit from Sellafield Ltd, Gen2 and Jacobs UK Ltd and Sellafield brought along former academy students to talk about their experiences.