STUDENTS in Weardale have been helping to prepare the community for future flooding.

Together with OASES (Outdoor and Sustainability Education Specialists), students from Wolsingham School have been working on the SHOCFlood project for several months.

The focus of their investigation was the Trod Beck, which flows through Upper Town in Wolsingham, to find out why it floods and what could be done about it.

Students then presented their findings to residents in a public meeting.

Edd Hodgson, Geography Teacher and Head of Year Ten, said the geography students had benefited from studying geographical issues on their doorstep and hoped the work was useful in informing the local community of the risks of flooding.

Chris Fisher, faculty leader for design technology, added: “Involvement with SHOCFlood enabled us to deliver several elements of the Engineering GCSE, including CAD, electronics and programming.

“An additional benefit was being able to develop cross curricular links with geography."

Residents are being encouraged by the Environment Agency to check whether their homes and businesses are at risk from flooding by calling Floodline on 0345-9881188.