AN RAF crew landed a helicopter at Warrington’s Priestley College to highlight the careers on offer in the services.
The Griffin took just 20 minutes to fly from RAF Shawbury in Shrewsbury before landing on the college’s sports pitch off Loushers Lane.
Public Services students chatted to pilots and got to sit in the cockpit of the aircraft, which is used for training aircrew.
Sergeant Rachael Collier said the visit marked the continued partnership between the RAF and Priestley College.
She said: “We want to open the students’ eyes to the different careers that are available with the RAF.
“There are roles for pilots and engineers, chefs and doctors but we are also the only force to have all three emergency services including fire crew.”
Only eight per cent of roles in the RAF are aircrew and there are 50 different jobs within the service.
Priestley students were able to ask more about the jobs available and the Griffin, which has a cruising speed of 138 mph, during the hour-long visit.
It followed the RAF’s decision in November to award Priestley one of only 50 platinum awards given out in the North West to cement its strongest community partnerships.
The award acknowledges that Priestley students have gone on to success within the RAF and also means that it wants to provide even more opportunities for young people who study at the college.
Sergeant Collier, who served in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, said a key message they wanted to get across is that RAF jobs are open to everyone.
“There are no boundaries – we are open to everyone no matter their gender, sexuality or background,” she said.
To find out more about studying Public Services at Priestley College go to www.priestley.ac.uk
