STUDENTS from a North-East college visited an international IT firm to find out about its work and the job opportunities in the sector.

Fourteen students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, enjoyed a trip to Atos, which works very closely with the college.

The A-Level applied ICT youngsters learned how the company sent the world's first text message in December 1992.

Stuart Nicoll, from Atos' Darlington base, also told students about how the company compiles fixture lists for the English Premier League and has delivered results for the Olympic Games.

They also enjoyed a presentation from Matt Purcell, Atos' Microsoft developer, who is a former A-Level computing student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.

Mr Purcell gained a first class honours degree in Computer Science at Teesside University before securing a graduate job with Atos.

He was able to demonstrate the world class tools and techniques that he and his colleague, Mike Ambrose, use to build large enterprise solutions at Atos.

The students were then given a demonstration of code development, standards, and source control and the large number of software tools, such as Java and Microsoft.NET technologies, that software developers use.

Student Daniel Cheyne said the day had given him a great insight into a potential career.

He said: “The visit gave me different options to consider in later life, including higher-level apprenticeships.”

Cathy Hodgson, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form's careers advisor, said the visit was another example of the college's important relationship with Atos, which really benefited students.

She said: “We are very proud of our employer links with Atos. “This was an excellent visit organised by Stuart and Paul Wearmouth, who is head of ICT at the college.

“It enhanced our students’ learning and made them aware of the range of career progression opportunities in the ICT industry.”