Teens were given a chance to see what life is like working at one of the country’s top science facilities.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) opened up the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Didcot for potential apprentices to discover how they could land a place helping to build space-age technology.

Attendees got a chance to meet current apprentices and try their hand at using some of the machinery at the laboratory.

Sophy Palmer, public engagement manager at Rutherford, said that 100 people had attended the event.

She said: "If we’ve even sent a few people away at the end of the day who are seriously considering an apprenticeship, then it’s a job well done.”

Apprenticeships on offer feature up to four years of paid training in electrical, electronic, mechanical and software engineering.

Emily Galvin, who is in her second year as an advanced mechanical engineering apprentice, said: "I feel like I'm helping to make science happen and be a part of building the future which is really cool.

"We are working on new ways of doing things every day which forces you to think in different ways. I have learnt so many skills from all the scientists I work with."

She added: "I've just done a three week placement in Grenoble and it was a great experience even though I had to learn how to use the equipment in French.

"Most of my friends are at uni but this almost guarantees that I will have a job at the end, it opens up so many opportunities."

Applications to become a computing apprentice at the council are currently open. Other apprenticeship opportunities will be advertised later in the year.

Helen Johnson, the STFC’s national apprenticeship scheme manager, said: “We offer unique opportunities for our apprentices to actively contribute to some of the most fascinating science experiments of our time.

“By working with great teams on some ground-breaking projects, we support aspiring engineers to give them a flying start in their careers, whatever their end goal might be."

E-mail apprentices@stfc.ac.uk for more information.