Dounreay  -

Wick High School Pupils Get First Hand View Of Dounreay
17 senior Wick High School pupils studying National Certificate modules in electronics and 2 teachers recently made a visit to Dounreay to give them an insight into how electronics is dealt with in the real world. The group were advised that decommissioning a site such as Dounreay is not just simply demolishing buildings, lots of highly technical installation and maintenance is still required. The group were welcomed to site by Norman Harrison, Dounreay Director followed by a tour of the site and tours of the instrument workshop, which allowed them to see actual electronic equipment on the bench for maintenance and repair, and WRACS (Waste Receipt Assay Characterisation and Supercompaction facility) which allowed them to connect electronics to a real process.

The visit was organised between UKAEA Dounreay and BNES (British Nuclear Energy Society). Bryan Dods, UKAEA Dounreay's Vocational Skills Co-ordinator and member of BNES said "It's important both to us and the country as a whole, for school pupils to understand that trade skills are still viable as careers paths. If they do their best, their options for employment or study could be almost unlimited. These youngsters from Wick are following studies in a high-tech subject, they could carry out instrument and control work here at Dounreay or even work up to getting involved in designing the next generation of computers. The basics are important, and the BNES and UKAEA Dounreay are keen to help in any way we can to allow the school to make an early connection between the academic and the realistic."