Pupils at St John and St Francis Church School in Bridgwater took part in a careers carousel event.

It brought over 60 students from year six into close contact with various professionals from local businesses.

Children gained first-hand experiences and insights from a paramedic, nurse, soft drinks manufacturer, ICT company, vet, hydrographics organisation, and a housebuilder.

Countryside Homes, currently developing Strawberry Grange, and part of Vistry Group, seized the opportunity to engage the children with the building industry.

Vistry's Emma Mackay and Alex Moss drove home the importance of housebuilding, including a practical health and safety challenge and a task explaining the process of constructing a home.

(Image: Countryside Homes)

Teacher and Key Stage 2 lead, Kim Shanahan said: "We are very grateful to Countryside Homes and all the other volunteers for helping at our careers' fair.

"The whole event was amazing – engaging and interactive – everything we could have wished for.

"Everyone helped to provide a brilliant learning experience for all children, who gained and improved their knowledge of the skills, qualities and career paths/routes required for different professions."

Alex Moss, assistant site manager at Strawberry Grange, shared his career journey from trainee to assistant site manager with the youngsters.

He said: "It was fantastic to talk to the children about housebuilding.

"Not only did it give them an opportunity to ask questions about their local area – as we’re building just up the road – but it also enabled us to talk about the diverse range of jobs available.

"It’s not just site management or learning a trade like carpentry and bricklaying, there’s a huge number of jobs involved when creating new homes, including engineering, land buying, quantity surveying and marketing."

(Image: Countryside Homes)

Once completed, Strawberry Grange promises to bring 260 new homes, two play parks, and areas of public open space to Bridgwater.

These public spaces will be ingeniously designed with attenuation basins to manage surface water.

For additional information on St John and St Francis Church School or Countryside Homes, you can visit www.stjohnstfrancisbwmat.org or www.countrysidehomes.com, respectively.