WORCESTER’S Bishop Perowne CofE College is at the forefront of engineering education with a course that will lead students to a GCSE and support them in obtaining an apprenticeship.

Thanks to a partnership with Worcester’s Yamazaki Mazak UK Limited the Merriman’s Hill Road college is able to offer its year nine youngsters the opportunity of working towards a qualification which will give them skills useful for later in life, as well as being fun and interesting to study.

This term, for the first time at Bishop’s 36 students, aged 13 and 14 – 32 boys and four girls – are setting out on a two-year GCSE course which will include teaching at school – in a newly refurbished workshop - and training by highly skilled engineers at leading machine tool manufacturer Yamazaki Mazak Ltd, in Badgeworth Drive.

Graham Jeeves, the department's subject leader, said: “I am excited to be starting a course that puts back a missing link in design and technology. Students will be able to learn traditional skills while at the same time using new and emerging technologies in a manner which they will be able to transfer to future employment.”

Bishop Perowne has had a successful educational partnership with Mazak since 2012. This has included geography students going on a trip to find out more about local industry; pupils studying photography providing pictures for the firm’s calendar and Christmas cards and a group from the design and technology department visiting to see modern engineering at work. This term, with the help of Mazak engineers, students from both the resistant materials and engineering GCSE groups will be designing and making a promotional gift for possible use by the company at future trade fairs.

Mr Jeeves said: “We are increasing our working relationship with Mazak and planning a visit each term to support the students’ education.”

Pioneering this stronger link have been five students from the resistant materials group who have just successfully achieved their silver awards in an industrial cadetship scheme which was initiated by industry in response to a challenge by Prince Charles. Mazak chose to run the silver award which has given the youngsters practical experience in modern engineering. Mr Jeeves would now like to build on this foundation.

He said: “These students have pioneered this new course and are to be congratulated on their achievements. I am hoping this is just the beginning of a successful partnership and the development of engineering at Bishop Perowne.”