There are only three girls in my Marine School class, I'd love to see more

The oldest marine school in the world used a “Women in Maritime” event to commemorate the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) International Day for Women in Maritime.

The event was organised to bring together women at the marine college with marine lecturers, cadets, students and support staff all sharing their experiences in the industry and how they can empower more females to pursue a career at sea.

The first female captain of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier, Captain Claire Thompson, OBE was at the marine school.

19-year-old Phase One Nautical Science Cadet Verity Jeffers said; “I say go for it, the maritime industry is an industry with a high percentage of men and my class only has three.

“I know it’s small, but it’s progress and gradually more and more women of all ages are now applying to work at sea. It’s really good to see.”

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Captain Thompson and her ship’s crew travelled to South Shields in the North East to use the college’s award-winning multi-million-pound marine simulation equipment to run a project and to prepare the HMS Queen Elizabeth ready to sail on the Forth River and into Rosyth Port near Edinburgh.

Founded in 1861, the school is the longest operating marine training college in the world.

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