BEDFORD High School Year 10 pupils have been working with Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) trainers as part of a building project exercise.

The scenario was to take charge of a project to create a community centre worth £2 million in under two hours.

The challenge also gave students an insight into a career in surveying.

RICS trainer Jessica Levinson Young said: “The students were split into groups and given a client to work for and asked to build a community centre.

"They were given a budget and they had to decide what to spend it on.

"The things they had to consider included the plot of land the centre would be built on, how people would access it, how many storeys it would have and the impact on the local community.

“They had to use all sorts of employability skills, including team work, leadership and presentation skills.

“These are all the kind of qualities they will need in the future when applying for universities and a job.”                                                                

Year 10 student Alyssia Hart said: “I enjoyed the interactive activities and being able to work with the rest of my team mates.

“It is really important our school puts on workshops like this because it helps us think about what we would like to do in the future.”

Her teammate Devon Hart added: “The challenge was great. I didn’t know anything about surveying before I did this, so it was really worthwhile finding out more about it.

"You need lots of different skills and it’s really interesting.

"It has made me think about it as a possible career opportunity.”

Graham Bowcock from surveying firm Berrys was watching the pupils work together on the task.

He said: “The young people did really well.

“They were set a strict brief with time constraints and lots of real-world issues to resolve.

"The results they came up with were extremely impressive.

“There are opportunities for young people in surveying and it is fundamental that schools like Bedford are telling people about the profession and how they can get into it.”

Bedford High School head teacher Helen Phillips said: “This was a fantastic challenge that gave our students not only the chance to find out more about a possible career path but to get some practical hands-on experience of what the job is all about.”