CHILDREN swapped their books for clipboards and donned hi-viz jackets and hard hats for a lesson on a building site.

Pupils at Lifton Community Academy learnt about how new homes are built and the different careers in construction during a visit to Wain Homes’ Oakdene development in Lifton village.

They spent the day learning about the process of building modern new homes and finding out about the different types of jobs people can do in the housebuilding and construction industry.

The ten to 11-year-olds looked round a show home and wrote an estate agents-style review in a competition. Benjamin Julian won a £50 gift voucher from Wain Homes with Thomas Mounce and Sophie Gliddon, runners up, each receiving a £25 voucher.

Kate Brimacombe, director of education at Learning Academy Partnership SW, said: “Thank you to the Wain Homes team for inviting us to visit and for giving our children an enjoyable and informative experience in a way they could easily understand.

“The children now have knowledge of how the homes they live in are built and some of the jobs they may be interested in as they get older. They particularly enjoyed looking round the show home and taking part in the writing challenge to describe the property and the development in their own words.”

Hannah Blackbourn, regional sales director at Wain Homes, said: “We were blown away by how creative and imaginative the children’s reviews of our show home were. They clearly have an eye for interior design, as their descriptions were so detailed and emotive and reading about how our homes made them feel was very special. “

Wain Homes is building 54 energy efficient two, three and four-bedroom homes at Oakdene, situated around an ancient oak tree in the centre of a new village green.