FAMILIES have thrown their support behind an academy aimed at grooming teenagers for careers as designers and engineers.

The JCB Academy will open in September 2010 and is already attracting interest from young people across Staffordshire.

It will be based in the converted Grade II-listed Tutbury Mill, in Rocester, and will cost more than £24 million.

Around 100 parents and youngsters attended an event at the Britannia Stadium last night to find out more about the school and how to apply.

The JCB Academy will cater for 14 to 19-year-olds from four local authority areas; Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, and Derbyshire and will have 120 places for year 10 pupils in its first intake.

Edensor Technology College pupil Reece Wood, from Longton, is only 11 years old, but is already looking at going to the academy when he turns 14.

He said: "I like modelling in 3D, which is something I could do there. But the thing I like the most is the IT equipment. It sounds really good."

Reece's mother Kerry Mellor added: "The academy would give him the qualifications and the experience. It would open up opportunities."

Oliver Wilson, from Meir, has already set his sights on becoming an engineer.

The 12-year-old said: "I've always got a spanner or a screwdriver in my hand. I'm looking forward to studying engineering."

Oliver is home-schooled at the moment and doesn't have access to the kind of cutting edge equipment which will be on offer at the academy.

The school will have input from JCB, Toyota and Rolls Royce, who will be setting the students challenges each term.

Principal Jim Wade said: "It will be a unique curriculum experience. There won't be anywhere else with that problem-solving approach to learning. It will also be about employability skills."

Every 14 to 16-year-old will study diplomas in engineering and business, and will also take GCSEs in English, maths, science, ICT, and languages.

Post-16 students will do an advanced diploma and could also do A-levels.

The academy will have links to several universities, including Warwick, Loughborough, and Harper Adams, so its curriculum will lead naturally to engineering degrees.

Justin Bishop, aged 13, from Stoke, could be in the first intake when the school opens.

The Newcastle-under-Lyme School pupil, who hopes to pursue a career as an RAF pilot, said: "I like the idea of doing more practical work. It sounds interesting."