Last week saw the launch of the Diploma in Construction and Built Environment to be studied by more than 3,000 students across the country this school year.

To mark the milestone, schools secretary Ed Balls visited Year 9 students from St Bonaventure’s School at Newham sixth form college on their first day of the course, which aims to bridge the gap between vocational and academic studies. The minister saw the students examine the designs for the nearby London 2012 site and construct their own model buildings for the Olympic village.