A career in nursing and healthcare is on the horizon for the first students to graduate from a pioneering cadet scheme.

Nine teenagers took part in the year-long course established by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College.

South Downs Health NHS Trust, which provides mental health and community services, is also part of the scheme.

The course involves people between 16 and 18 being offered practical experience in hospitals and basic academic grounding before starting training for a professional qualification.

Cadets are also given help and training on how to apply for a job or course and basic interview techniques.

One of the the nine students, Amy Carter, from Hove, has already gone on to start a three-year nursing diploma course at Brighton University.

Six have been employed to work as healthcare assistants at Brighton and Sussex and South Downs Health and the final two are planning to take A Levels in health and social care before doing a degree.

Cadet scheme co-ordinator Nikki Moore is delighted with the results.

She said: "The enthusiasm and motivation of the students has been tremendous. The trusts are getting benefits because they are able to recruit new staff but there is much more to it than that.

"It is a great feeling knowing that people are getting the chance to get a start on a career they really want to do."

Cadets are able to use the course to learn the basics in the area of healthcare they are interested in which could range from nursing, physiotherapy and midwifery to occupational therapy, mental health or district nursing.

Watching and working with professional staff also means cadets are able to get an idea of what the job entails and pick up advice and tips.

The next batch of cadets start at the end of next month and this time will be divided into two groups of 15.

The advanced group will be made up of cadets with at least four GCSEs who are considering A-level or degree healthcare courses.

The intermediate group are those with up to three GCSEs who will get a GNVQ qualification at the end of the course.

The graduating students are delighted with the grounding the course has given them.

Sam Fitch, 17, from Bevendean, had always wanted to work in a hospital caring for others, but was unsure which branch of health work she wanted to follow.

Three days a week she has been working in the plaster room at the fracture clinic at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the rest of the time she has been studying at the college.

She said: "It has been really good because it has enabled me to combine practical experience with getting academic qualifications. I now want to gain my full nursing qualifications and continue working with plaster.

"It is great because you are doing something creative while having contact with the patients and it has meant I am not stuck in the classroom all week."