A TEAM of Lakes College students has qualified for the finals of a prestigious national skills competition.

Four welding students from the Lillyhall college will take their place in the finals of the WorldSkills UK contest to be held in Birmingham in November.

In the regional heats, the students - Conor Alexander, Conor Greenhow, Dariush Padidar-Nazar and Sam Meagan - had to complete four welding test pieces in four hours and were all placed in the top five.

Conor Alexander, 22, from Whitehaven, said: "I'm really happy with my performance and excited to have qualified. It’s brilliant that we have a team going down as we can support each other and there’s healthy competition in the group."

Conor Greenhow, 19, from Workington, said: "I'm happy that I got this far. It's going to be tight for first place.’

Dariush Padidar-Nazar, 18, from Wigton, added: "I'm happy to have the experience and it's such a big event. The footfall is about 80,000 people so there’s definitely pressure to perform."

And Sam Meagan, 19, from Workington, who won first place in the regional heats, said: "I'm really chuffed as last year I missed qualifying by just one point.

"I went down last year to support the lads and I know what to expect in the competition. I’ve learnt so much and I feel ready for the competition."

Chris Nattress, college principal, said: "We have a lot of talent at the college and it’s competitions like WorldSkills that highlight the students' abilities.

"It’s really promising that we have four finalists from Lakes College. It’s an exciting time for the welding students and we wish them all the best."