STUDENTS donned helmets and high-vis jackets for a visit to Rampion wind farm.

The pupils, from King’s Academy in Ringmer, were shown the ins and outs of operations at the wind farm’s headquarters in Newhaven, as workers educated them on the construction of the project and how the energy is transferred to the National Grid in Bolney.

Rampion staff also demonstrated the high levels of health and safety they have to adhere on a daily basis, maintenance work they carry out, the control centre for all the vessels involved with the wind farm, including a ship and hotel for the workers.

Students were also shown one of the many boats that take the maintenance and construction staff out to the turbines, and given a presentation about which education pathway was best suited for a career in the industry.

Year 8 student, Bradley Kingman, said: “It was very interesting.

“I learnt there are 116 turbines which produce enough electricity to power 350,000 homes.”

Lewes councillor Rupert Simmons also attended, praising Rampion for providing local employment opportunities and its part in East Sussex County Council’s Open Door 2017 project, which educates students about the huge variety of jobs and potential careers in the local area.

The Rampion team included members with very different educational backgrounds with some entering the industry via apprenticeships and BTECs, some doing later Open University degrees and others coming in as graduates from their university studies.

Rampion’s onshore stakeholder manager Sue Vincent, who co- ordinated the Open Doors initiative, said the team members found it very rewarding to share their experiences with the students and hoped they were able to inspire the young visitors to find out more about offshore wind and the Rampion project.

King’s Academy is a national leader in sustainability and energy management generating around 70 per cent of its heat and 20 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy sources on site.

The school’s environmental coordinator Stephen Green said: “Our students know that renewables play a crucial role in our energy needs.

“Rampion demonstrates that this can be scaled up to provide a significant part of the electrical needs of East Sussex.”