Recently, our Year 9 students took an unforgettable careers trip to EDF's Heysham power station, designed to inform and inspire them about the energy sector and the incredible opportunities available.

Year 9 student Harry, who has a keen passion for the industry, shared his experience of the day:

"We recently took a trip to EDF's Heysham power station for a careers trip. I was very excited because I am very interested in nuclear power and working in a power station so I knew I had to sign up.

On the day we arrived early and started off by learning about different types of power, what the UK generates the most and how a nuclear power station works, which was very interesting. We then got a look around the visitor centre, walking around the gallery to learn all about the site, including when it was built, where they get the fuel from and how a generator works.

After lunch we had a tour around the site. We were kitted up in hard hats, ear protectors and high-vis vests before entering, and then got to explore the site and see electricity generated first-hand. We went through the turbine hall, with two massive turbines on each side - on the day we went they were going through a statutory outage, which means there was lots of repair work going on!

After we exited the turbine hall, we went up a lift and came out in a viewing gallery over reactor 8, where you could look over and see the pile cap (top of the reactor), which was very cool. Then we walked along to see the control room, where you could watch the operators keeping the massive site in check and preventing any accidents. One of the tour guides even told us that the operators get paid six figures!

My favourite part of the day was the tour, as we got to go around a real power station! It has really helped me in my career path as I now know what GCSEs I need which will help with my options, how to apply for an apprenticeship and what that entails, and also what some careers in nuclear are and their salaries. The trip was great!" - Harry, Year 9

Trips like this provide invaluable insight, helping our students connect their classroom studies directly to exciting future career pathways. A huge thank you to the team at EDF Heysham for hosting us and giving our students such an inspiring day out!