Amy Fulbrook, now 19, did her school work experience at a garage two miles from her home. She took a a liking to it, and has now finished her Modern Apprenticeship as a motor mechanic and came second in a competition for trainees.

She left school at 16 with GCSEs, but had already made up her mind she wanted to be a mechanic. She took a course at Farnborough College of Technology and then was taken on at the garage, known as The Garage, in Frensham, Hampshire, where she undertook her Modern Apprenticeship. “They had trained me from scratch, so we both knew where we were,” she said.

Mike Edgar, chief executive at The Garage, said: “Amy has shown a maturity beyond her years, particularly in her dealings with colleagues and customers. The staff’s respect for her technical ability grows daily.”

Now the company is allowing Amy day release to take a management course. “I want to get extra knowledge so if I ever left here I would have that extra experience in the business.

“I think the Modern Apprenticeship is very good. It gives you confidence and many more options for the future. My mum and dad are really pleased I have got this far. I would recommend a Modern Apprenticeship to other people. I had thought of staying on at school, but I decided to stick with what I was doing,” she said.