A BURNLEY high school has gone into partnership with a leading international construction and engineering company to help boost pupils’ skills.

Pupils at Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic High School will benefit from expertise and practical help after being “adopted” by J Murphy & Sons Limited.

The partnership comes as part of the Class Of Your Own scheme, which aims to encourage the next generation of young people into the construction industry by taking part in the Design, Engineer and Construct! course.

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J Murphy’s managing director for the North, John B Murphy, met pupils, the school board and members of COYO to officially adopt the school.

The scheme is funded by the firm, which will also support the school by giving pupils opportunities to experience the technical side of the industry through site visits, mentoring and professional support.

Rob Houghton, group learning and development manager at Murphy, said: “Blessed Trinity RC College has been using its own initiative to deliver construction-related projects but without any committed industry support, which was why we were so keen to adopt the school and provide practical assistance in showing young people what a great industry construction is.”

The scheme also gives teachers the latest in industry knowledge which is hoped will help them to have confidence in what they are teaching and aid them with delivering the curriculum.

Headteacher of Blessed Trinity, Richard Varey, said: “At Blessed Trinity we want to be at the cutting-edge of education.

“We want to open our pupils’ eyes to every opportunity that is out there for them.

“Courses like this are important for that.

“We are grateful to a high-profile employer like Murphy for adopting our school.”

Alison Watson, managing director of Class Of Your Own, said: “If you Google ‘famous engineer’ and ‘vocational’ and then hit images, is it any wonder kids are not interested in construction as a career? The images are not exactly inspiring.

“The whole industry needs to do much more to get across to young people, their parents, and their teachers that building is not just digging holes.

“Companies like Murphy work on some of the most exciting construction projects in the country, like Crossrail and the Thames Tideway Tunnel, and young people need to see that.”