How do you get an order of iPods from the manufacturers in China to customers in Britain on time and on budget? More than 150 senior pupils from Bathgate Academy in West Lothian, who took part in a logistics enterprise challenge, “Made in China”, have been finding out.

Seventeen S5 teams participated in the day, which aimed to help them understand the way iPods move from manufacture to point of sale.

The web resource is based on industry-led activities and real companies. Development of the innovative challenge is funded by the Road Haulage and Distribution Training Council and managed by Skills of Logistics. The aim is to improve perceptions that young people have of the freight logistics industry and highlight the range of career opportunities it offers.

Joe Boyd, the headteacher, said: “The teams learned a great deal about the issues behind the movement of items from country of production to a shelf in a shop. Bathgate has links with China and Mandarin is taught in the school, so it was interesting for our pupils. The web-based resource was very good, in that it provided learning opportunities based on real companies, in a fun and interactive way.”