PUPILS with dreams of becoming engineers visited the House of Lords to show off their work helping to regenerate part of Burnley’s Weavers’ Triangle.

The quartet of 14-year-olds presented their work on the schoolhouse at the top of Sandygate to an audience of industry and education leaders, including former Education Secretary Lord Jim Knight.

Joseph Spencer from Unity, Shuttleworth’s Katie Eldridge, Sir John Thursby student Hifza Chaudhry and Megan Frostm from Blessed Trinity, travelled to London yesterday to make the presentation.

The schoolhouse played an important role in the education of Burnley children during the Industrial Revolution.

More than 100 years later it is helping to forge the engineers of the 21st Century.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund the pupils and their classmates have been working in the 19th Century building since summer 2011. They have had hands-on experience of what it is like to work in a number of different careers, including surveyors, planners, engineers and architects.

They have helped design a new extension at the back of the building that is sympathetic to its industrial heritage.

At the House of Lords, the pupils outlined the history of the site and their design ideas. Project co-ordinator Alison Watson, from education company Class of Your Own, arranged the visit and accompanied the students.

She said: “The children have been able to work and learn on site, rather than in a classroom. I wrote to Lord Knight as I knew he is interested in encouraging young people to think about possible careers in engineer- ing and technology.

“He was very interested and organised the opportunity for the four students to make a presentation to an audience of industry leaders.”

Among the audience was Sir John Parker, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle.