SIX teenagers met Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon after becoming the first schoolchildren in the country to achieve an NVQ Level One in fabrication and welding.

The youngsters gained their qualification at NETA Training, in Billingham, as part of a course organised by the Middlesbrough Education Network, and five of the teenagers will be going on to take more advanced welding courses at Teesside Tertiary College.

All six made a request for the Mayor to attend their awards ceremony at NETA Training, at Leeholme Industrial Estate.

Mr Mallon said: "I'm delighted to be presenting these young people with a well-deserved qualification. They have realised that education and training are absolute essentials if you are to get on and get a job.

"I hope they'll go on to higher qualifications and even better things. Their success also highlights the vital work done by the network service in trying to ensure that young people whose needs can't be met in mainstream schools achieve their potential."