Pupils from Newstead Wood School for Girls in Orpington have been talking to MPs and senior engineers about their experiences with the new engineering Diploma.

The showcase event at the Houses of Parliament last month was organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and an all-party group of MPs headed by Tim Boswell, MP for Daventry.

The pupils from the engineering specialist school explained what they had gained from being among the first in the country to study for the new qualification.

Victoria Luck, 15, in her second year of study, said: “It’s brilliant. It’s given us skills that employers and universities will want, and we’ve had so many opportunities. We’ve been to lectures at Bromley College, we’ve been to Barcelona, where we visited a Honda factory, and to BAE Systems.”

Classmate, Sorcha Tokvis, said: “We’ve worked in teams, we’ve had discussions, I’ve had the opportunity to present to groups, and these are skills that I’ll need later in life.” ws.