Joanna Lumley and Nick Clegg were among the visitors to Bishop Challoners School on Monday to mark the launch of a new “Inspiring The Future” programme.

Joanna Lumley and Nick Clegg were among the visitors to Bishop Challoners School this week to mark the launch of a new “Inspiring The Future” programme.

The scheme, aimed at inspiring young people and helping them find the career advice they need, was launched at the school in Commercial Road by the Deputy Prime Minister on Monday (July 2).

Pupils at the school were addressed by Mr Clegg and Ms Lumley, as well as by other professionals from East London, including staff from Barts Health Trust.

Mr Clegg said: “Too many young people get the message that the best jobs are not for them. Inspiring the Future will give state school students the chance to see, hear and make a connection with someone in a career or job they might not have thought about.

“Today we’re calling on doctors, nurses, lawyers, civil servants, engineers and other working people to give up just an hour of their time to talk to students in their local state school about how they got where they are today.”

Rebecca Sherwood, from the Barts Trust, spoke to pupils about her role assisting up to 20 operations per week.

She said: ““One of the things I love most about my job is that no two days are ever the same. Each day is very diverse and I really enjoy meeting and working with lots of different patients and clinicians.

“Hopefully I will have inspired some of the students here today to consider a career in health – it’s a fascinating and very rewarding area to work in.”