The Bay of Plenty Polytechnic hosted about 700 secondary school students at its annual open day held at its Windemere campus yesterday.

Schools from around the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and as far afield as Opotiki, Hauraki Plains, Whitianga and Rotorua attended the event in the hope of exploring future careers options.

Candice Herbst shows off her wax hand creation at Open Day.

Candice Herbst, a Year 12 student from Matamata College, made the most of the day by attending information sessions as well as getting a taste of campus life.

'I'd really love to be an actor, but it's pretty hard to get a job in this area, so I'm exploring other career options.”

As well as attending information sessions about the range of courses and scholarships available through both the polytechnic and the University of Waikato, students were entertained by local radio stations and local DJ Brutus Powers of Sophistafunk Music.

In between lectures, students tried their hand at the inflatable boxing ring, made wax casts of their hands and took part in singing and dancing competitions.

Polytechnic marketing and communications manager Maggie Hope says she was delighted to see students making the most of the day.

'All of our programme information sessions were incredibly busy with many overflowing with students. The diploma to degree pathways programmes offered through the partnership in Tauranga were of particular interest to the year 12 and 13 students.

'Students are definitely starting to realise both the financial and social benefits of staying in the Bay.”