City of Westminster College last week hosted a heat for the WorldSkills Competition with a number of CWC students taking part. The students had to design and make a poster, complete a crime scene investigation, including following up with the paperwork and undertaking a lab task which involved studying human and dog hairs and differentiating between the two. The students were judged by a team of forensic scientists and practitioners, including several from Orchid Cellmark, one of the biggest forensic companies in the country.

WorldSkills UK heats are held in a number of venues including Colleges and work places across the UK from April to July each year. Those who score highest in the heats are invited to take part in the finals at The Skills Show where they hope to be named the UK Champion in their chosen skill. Last year two Forensic Science students, Lilyana Kemileva and Karen Peters competed in the final at the NEC Birmingham.

Gary Howard, Managing Director for Complete Forensics said, “We get more and more schools and colleges taking part every year, with a lot of interest building amongst young people which is fantastic to see. We’ve had 150,000 people see us at the NEC over the last two years. CWC has been a great supporter since it got involved last year and it’s great to see it grow year on year.”