A tatty looking house has been transformed in a major makeover by a team of students.
The property has been painted and decorated from top to bottom by the team from Llandrillo College.
They sprang into action as the result of a ground-breaking partnership with the housing association, Cartrefi Conwy.
The house in Argoed, Kinmel Bay, was acquired recently by Cartrefi Conwy but the interior was looking worse for wear and needed an upgrade before being let to tenants.
At the same time, first year students on the Pathways to Apprenticeship course at Llandrillo College were looking for an opportunity to gain practical experience outside the classroom.
It’s believed the tie up between the college and Cartrefi Conwy is the only partnership of its kind in Wales.
Painting and decorating lecturer Scott Thomas said: “We are very grateful to Cartrefi Conwy because this is brilliant experience for the students.
“They are sponsoring all the materials and all the students have really enjoyed the opportunity. This is really going to stand them in good stead.
“They have been taught various things in the college itself because we have a practical workshop but there are certain things we can’t simulate such as live wires and rotten wood.
“So this project is ideal for us and the students have really enjoyed it. There’s a lot of enthusiasm.
“When they walk away from this job, somebody is moving in. The job has to be right so they are taking a lot of pride in their work.
“If you paper a wall in college it is ripped down very quickly. It’s a very useful exercise but it’s not the same as doing it for real.
“Before we started the job we took pictures of what it looked like and a few measurements and they then had to work out how much paint and how much paper they needed.
“I have tried to keep them in the same room so they are responsible for their own work. The ones who are slightly faster are getting the bigger rooms and the ones who are slightly slower are getting the smaller rooms.
“At the end of the project I am going to collate all the information and put it in a letter for each individual student to give to a potential employer.
“It will be a statement from me saying they have done the job to a professional standard – it’s got to be professional to be acceptable to me and Cartrefi Conwy.
“We’ve also involved the plumbing department by getting them to come down to take the radiators off because it was difficult for us to paper behind the radiators. Next week when we’ve finished they’ll put the radiators back again.”
Student Steve Lewis, 17, from Llandudno, was revelling in the opportunity to put his skills to the test in a real working environment.
He said: “When we came in the walls were a bit dented and cracked, we prepared the wall by filling in the holes.
“We have put lining paper on and it is being painted over. I have tried my hardest because somebody is going to move in soon. It needs to be a good job.
“I feel proud and it makes me go home with a smile on my face.”
It was a sentiment echoed by fellow student John Peet, 18, from Old Colwyn.
He added: “I am enjoying this, it’s a new experience. Somebody is going to live here so I am proud of my work.”
Mike Rutter, Cartrefi Conwy’s Mechanical and Electrical Contract Manager, was impressed with the standard of work.
He said: “One of our priorities is to work with the community for the benefit of the community and providing real training opportunities for local students is part of our ethos.
“Our faith in them has certainly been repaid because they have done an absolutely first class job.”
