A vocational school in the centre of Bradford is today re-branding as it prepares to offer a wider range of courses, including ones to train the country’s future health workers.

The International Food and Travel Studio on Thornton Road will add health occupation strands to the courses it currently runs, and will now be known as Bradford Studio School.

Studio schools were first rolled out in 2010 as an attempt to narrow the gap between education and the world of employment, and provide an alternative to young people who wanted to continue their education, but did not necessarily want to go down the purely academic route.

The Bradford school, which opened in September 2012, offers courses that prepare young people for work in the business, food, and travel industries, and has the city’s most unusual classroom – a converted fuselage of a 737 which is used to train students to work as cabin crew in the air travel industry.

In September it will add Health and Social Care to its list of subjects to “widen its scope.”

The school can have up to 300 students aged 14 to 19.

It was set up by the Bradford College Education Trust and one of its main goals is to allow pupils to pick up real world skills. As traditional qualifications in core subjects like English, maths and science, students are offered paid work placements and vocational courses that train them for a career in the hotel, restaurant and air travel industry among other walks of life. And instead of normal school hours and long summer holidays, the way the classes are delivered also prepares pupils for the working world – the school is open year round and from 9-5pm.

It remains the only studio school in the district, and one of just three in Yorkshire. It works with local and national hotel chains, restaurants, cafe bars and food logistics companies as well as major travel employers in the city to help provide the experiences that both give pupils the experience they require and the skills employers look for.

And in the next academic year, students will be able to study for a career in the health industry A statement from the school says: “The re-brand will also appeal to an ever more varied local and national employer base, ensuring Bradford Studio School continues to offer an ever-increasing, quality selection of employers from which the students can launch successful careers.”

Michelle Sutton, group chief executive of Bradford College, said: “As the sponsor of Bradford Studio School, the Bradford College Education Trust welcomes the new-look studio.

“Based on the past two years of this innovative school for 14 to 19-year-olds, we have widened the scope of the educational and vocational activities to meet the needs of our local employers with whom we work closely.

“Our students will be extremely well-prepared to obtain jobs in not only international food and travel, but also in a wide variety of occupations in the National Health Service and other health sector employers.”

Jean Watt, Bradford Studio principle, said: “The re-brand will mark the significant changes that we have made, such as driving up standards, improving the quality of teaching and learning, introducing new courses and transforming the school’s image. This is a new era for Bradford Studio School – we will be outstanding and everything that’s connected to the school has to send that message.”

The school is holding a number of open days for anyone interested in the new courses. The open days are on April 8, May 1 and 19, June 17 and 26, and July 7 to 10.