Wired for the Future: Students Tour National Grid Site 

Last week Ms Smith and other staff took groups of young people down to the Hutton Substation to tour the site and learn about what the National Grid does as a company and its different careers.

Pupils had a lengthy health and safety briefing, donned PPE and entered the secure site. This visit is part of a number of activities the National Grid offers us to introduce pupils to careers in engineering and electricity. 

Ms Smith said "It has been great to see so many pupils appear on the 'Interested in electricity careers' list. This is the first day of trips and have two more to follow. The attendance list for these is well subscribed, without pupils knowing a trip was planned. The pupils, as expected, were sensible and followed health and safety instructions well. I hope pupils now have a greater understanding of what the "Giant metal structure in a field" does, its significance and the roles required to maintain it. 

National Grid staff were astounded by the array of interesting questions pupils asked about their work and the site. Questions included - Where are the highest pylons? To where is the longest stretch of cable between pylons? What happens if part or all of the Hutton site fails to work? 

Pupils learned that the pylons across the River Ribble are some of the tallest in the country. Pupils also saw the equipment which was floated up the River Ribble and discussed the activities around that process, including problems and solutions. Pupils enjoyed the visit and came away with further knowledge of electricity transfer.