STUDENTS at West Somerset College had a genuine taste of the world of work when they took on a project for West Somerset Railway, as part of an Opportunity Area-funded chance to have encounters with employers.

Fourteen students from Year 9 and Year 10 initially went on a fact-finding visit to the railway’s Bishop’s Lydeard site, then undertook challenge days, with the Year 10 group doing a real life project, working in teams to go all the way through from designing a new site to making presentations on it.

They were briefed about the kind of facilities West Somerset Railway was looking for, to create a restaurant, extend the museum and create storage space, and their project was to come up with a proposal, including themes and style.

Each student took a job role in the project, such as bid manager, commercial manager and marketing manager, and volunteers on the day coached the students and judged their presentations.

The students came up with a number of inventive ideas including cafés, volunteer accommodation in converted train carriages, an underground multi-storey car-park to preserve the traditional feel of the site, and running party trains from Minehead to attract more young people there.