PUPILS at Salisbury’s Sarum Academy had a busy time last week.

While students in Year 10 were out and about doing a variety of different work experience roles, young pupils were taking part in a project to boost literacy skills and widen their experiences of the world of work.

The week began with a careers talk from various former pupils and working with Ben Franks, another old boy and managing director of Pie House Media, to edit entries to the schools The Big Write competition.

Six students made their way up to London to accept their prizes for winning the initiative’s creative writing category, and the prize sponsors, Cube Design, treated them to a trip on the London Eye.

Year 7 pupil Sophie Mackintosh said: “It was wonderful to spend the day in the capital and the view from the London Eye was spectacular. I really enjoyed spending the day with staff from the Academy and Cube Design, and I will definitely be entering The Big Write again next year.”

The following day, pupils were engaged with writing their own puppet show as well as entries for the national competition Spirited Art.

And on Friday, Margaret Clayton, of Salisbury’s Cafe Scientifique, delivered a lecture and liquid nitrogen show, which involved finding out how to hammer a nail into a piece of wood with a banana.

The week culminated with a writing project at Salisbury Cathedral with author Paul Dowsell. The pupils wrote their own stories based on the history of the cathedral.

Sally Stewart-Davies, teaching officer at the cathedral said: “The students were interested and curious about the stories that surround the cathedral’s long and eventful life that have inspired many visiting authors.”