A project manager for Crossrail inspired the next generation of female engineers and construction workers during a visit to Swanlea School.

Linda Miller spoke about her two decades worth of experience working on major projects in an attempt to encourage more women to become interested in following in her footsteps.

“The UK needs to double the number of people with engineering skills each year in order to meet the forecast demand in the next decade,” she said. “We will struggle to meet that target if more is not done to encourage young people to study science and maths subjects at A-levels.”

Almost one in two co-ed state schools (49 per cent) doesn’t have any female students taking A-level STEM subjects and just 8.5 pc of engineers in the UK are female - the lowest representation of women in the field in the EU.