Students were invited to learn about the sunnier side of palliative care at the Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, which hosted a summer school course recently.

The Esher-based hospice hosted 13 students aged 16-19 years old between July 8-12 for their summer school programme.

They hailed from Esher College, Kingston Grammar School, Heathside School in Weybridge and Southborough School, Surbiton.

Attendees who completed the course gained a City and Guilds Level 2 Award for students in End of Life Care.

The Hospice's skilled team of workers helped the teenagers hoping to develop their caring skills shed their inhibitions with a series of role-playing tasks.

Brushing each others' teeth, feeding their partners jelly and juice, and giving out soothing hand massages were some of the tasks entailed in the course.

Others included a session in the Hospice Man Shed, where the students helped the "Shedders" build small electric motors.

"I’ve always wanted a career in health care and more specifically as a doctor but I had never really considered specialising in end of life care as I thought it would be depressing...

"This experience has made me realise that it can be very rewarding and isn’t a depressing environment," one attendee said about the experience.