PUPILS at Peebles High School were given an introduction to the variety of careers available in the rural sector during a recent visit organised by RHET Borders.

The aim of the day was to allow the pupils to meet a number of professionals in the rural industry, have an opportunity to learn some of the skills they have to do their job and to gain an understanding of the amount of technology that is now required to produce our food.

All of the workshops were hands-on, and the pupils got the chance to taste many of the products that are produced out on the farm.

There were 12 different activity providers on the day, with the entire S2 year group of 230 pupils taking part in six workshops each. Topics included looking at methods of diagnosing parasites in sheep, the health benefits of beef, how to scan livestock, gamekeeping, sheep husbandry, bee keeping, deer management, butchery, veterinary science, dairy farming and flood management programmes on the Tweed, with representatives also forward from Moredun, the Roslin Institute, the Dick Vet, Tweed Forum and SRUC.

Sophie Elder and Rebecca Philip, both pupils at Peebles High School, said that the day was interesting and enjoyable. “It was very informative and it has opened my eyes to all the kind of jobs in the food, farming and the rural sector,” said Sophie.

Ross McLaren, deputy head teacher at Peebles High School, said: “We here at Peebles High School are very grateful to Lesley Mason at RHET and the 12 locally sourced providers that were organised to come into visit our S2 class. Our Careers in Agriculture Day offered a fantastic insight into the many careers on offer in this sector whilst providing a fun and engaging set of experiences that our young people thoroughly enjoyed.”

Ms Mason said: “I am very aware that most school pupils are not aware of the huge range of jobs within the rural sector, and events like this give pupils the chance to meet some of the people working in the industry, experience some of the jobs they do on a daily basis, and gives the children a chance to quiz the experts.”