ORGANISATIONS including Suffolk Education Business Partnership and Construction Skills supported a skills competition at Otley College involving four local schools.

Year 11 students from Chantry High, Claydon High, Ipswich Academy and Harwich and Dovercourt High schools got to experience painting and decorating, brickwork and carpentry, and also took part in a general knowledge quiz.

A team from Claydon won the contest, the prize being a day with housebuilder Crest Nicholson which was among a number of companies which also supported the event.

The activities required the students to work in teams where they built pyramids, took part in a Jenga challenge and had to use basic maths to work out an intricate painting challenge.

Head of Construction at Otley, Paul Williamson, said, “The idea of the event was to give students an experience of a variety of construction skills in a fun and competitive day of challenges.

“A team from Claydon High School won first prize overall that will see them get to tour Crest Nicholson later in the year. This experience will be of excellent benefit to the students CVs in an event that attempted to bring the subject of construction to life.”

Jason Thomas from Construction Skills said: “This is the second year running that we have worked with Otley on this project.

“It was a great event that helped promote the values of a career in the construction industry, whilst giving the year 10 students the valuable opportunity of meeting employers who could potentially take on some of the students as apprentices next year.”

Other organisations which supported the event included Wates, ISG, Trinity Construction and the Essex Construction Training Association.