A Newcastle College student is celebrating his success after securing second place at a regional skills competition.
17-year-old Jack Barrass, currently in the first year of his Level 2 Plumbing course, came second place at the North East inter-college plumbing competition held at East Durham College last month.
This regional competition forms part of a series of nationwide inter-college competitions where apprentices and students compete to be named the best in their discipline.
Competitors were asked to demonstrate their skills with different materials by building a ‘multi-frame’ using low carbon steel (LCS), plastic and copper pipe. The competitors’ work was judged by Jeff Nutter from City & Guilds, also a director at Lernr, and the top three students were presented with a certificate.
Jack said: “I met some great people at the competition, and I learnt some useful skills including working under pressure. It was also interesting to see how other colleges are set up, and what they teach their students. I didn’t expect to come in the top three at all, so to get second was brilliant.”
Jack's teacher Phil Foster added: “There are so many benefits to these competitions. It gives my students an insight into what other learners are doing at other colleges, so they know we’re all doing the same things. This shows them that if they want to stand apart from their peers, they need to be doing something extra, such as these competitions.”
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