On the 1^st February 2018 a group of Year 9 and Year 10 students went to Rochester to take part in activities organised by Kent Fire and Rescue Service. The students spent the whole day at a very modern and specially adapted educational purposes centre.

During a busy day our students learnt about road and water safety. They also watched a demonstration outside the building on home safety.

The students enjoyed the fact that the activities were interactive and learnt through hands on tasks. For one of the tasks they were split into two teams, acting as crime scene investigators for a road collision. They also had a chance to try special glasses which give a blurry vision, similar to what a drunk driver experiences while driving a car. Undoubtedly the biggest impact on the students was a short film about a young driver who ended up crashing into the lamppost and dying on the spot. What made the scene even more meaningful was bringing the screen up and switching from the clip into a very realistic car crash in which the firefighters from the centre were involved!

The students took home a handful of tips regarding road safety, which filled their conversations on the way back to school!

Throughout the day the students were fully engaged and they showed a real interest. One of them said: ‘I found the day really fun and I would do it again if I could.’

The trip was organised as part of CoPE, the vocational course that the students started last year.

Mrs K Taylor