READING West MP Martin Salter called in at a Tilehurst school where learning has a military precision.

The Skill Force - run by former forces staff - is an innovative programme supporting young people who need a more practical and less academic approach to learning.

It is managed by Central Berkshire Education Business Partnership (CBEBP) and sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Education and Skills and the Invest to Save Budget. It uses people who have been in the Army, Navy and Air Force to deliver a skills programme to pupils in Year Nine.

Mr Salter saw the programme in action at Prospect Technology College in Honey End Lane on Friday.