Lancashire is the first UK county to introduce an artificial intelligence (AI) super curriculum to every secondary school in the area, giving thousands of young people the skills and confidence they need for the future world of work.

There are MEGA (Motivated, Educated Generation with Ambition) Hubs across 10 Lancashire local authorities, including Preston, Chorley, South Ribble, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

These innovative enrichment career days provide students with access to a pioneering technology-enriched super curriculum and an AI Academy, giving them hands-on experience with cyber security, entrepreneurship, esports and machine learning.

This makes Lancashire the only county region in the country to integrate this learning into every secondary school for its 8,297 students, setting a new standard for digital education.

There are also MEGA Scholarships in Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire, where selected students receive a £1,000 bursary, mentoring, workplace visits, hackathons, industry placements, and the option to take a cyber security qualification.

Fulwood Academy winners at Year 7 MEGA Mania Day at the Preston MEGA Hub | submit

placeholder image — Fulwood Academy winners at Year 7 MEGA Mania Day at the Preston MEGA Hub | submit

Developed by professional technology training and skills provider IN4 Group, the MEGA Hub is funded by Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Blackpool Council and the National Cyber Force (NCF), alongside leading industry partners including IBM, KPMG UK, Northrop Grumman, CGI, QinetiQ, Energus, Roke and BT.

The MEGA Hub includes CyberFirst (which will migrate to TechFirst from April 2026), a programme backed by theDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ.

Lauren Monks, Director of CyberFirst and MEGA Hubs at IN4 Group, said: “Preston is leading the way in unlocking the potential of talented young people who may be at risk of underachieving due to disadvantage, neurodiversity or lack of social capital.

“The MEGA Hub helps every young person, wherever they live and whatever their background, to secure the best career destinations by boosting academic attainment, building technology skills, and opening access to professional networks.”

What do schools make of it?

Paul Vaughan, Deputy Principal at Cardinal Newman College, said: “We’re proud to be an anchor college for the Preston MEGA Hub. Being part of the MEGA Hub Days has aligned perfectly with our college’s core values of excellence, opportunity, and community. It has given Preston school pupils the chance to engage, innovate, and apply their learning in real-world contexts.

“Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue strengthening this partnership — building on the success of our Hub Days and seeing more young people inspired to explore digital and tech careers that make a real impact in the North West and beyond.”

A Chorley headteacher said: “Our students have embraced the new AI Academy and super curriculum. They can see clear links between what they learn in school and real tech careers here in Chorley. It is opening doors and raising aspirations.”

Holy Cross winners at Year 7 MEGA Mania Day at the Chorley & South Ribble MEGA Hub | submit

One hub, which took place at Lancaster and Morecambe College saw 47 pupils from Carnforth High School, Morecambe Bay Academy, Lancaster High School and Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy.

Katie and Bella, both Year 7 pupils from Carnforth High School, were fascinated by a task which involved cracking a code to access an online game.

Katie said: "It's great - at first, I thought it was easy, but now I'm finding it a little bit harder."

Bella agreed, adding: "I'm finding it really good, trying to code things. It does make me think that maybe I could do this in the future." Julie, also a Y7 pupil, added: "I'm finding it really interesting. I like building a game up. I'm learning something I could maybe see myself doing in future."

Another Y7 pupil, Una, said: "I'm enjoying this. I've never really done anything like this before so this is new, but it is really interesting."

Lancashire County Cllr Brian Moore, cabinet member for Economic Development and Growth discusses the tasks in hand with pupils at the Lancaster and Morecambe MEGA Hub. | submit

What has the council said?

Leader of Lancashire County Council Stephen Atkinson said: “This programme motivates young people and allows them to see the opportunity and makes them ready for the high-value jobs that will come into Lancashire.”

“These young people are like seeds from which oak trees grow, and they will influence their peers, and they will see how exciting this is, how they are supported and the ambition we have never seen before.”

CC Matthew Salter, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for Education and Skills, added:"We are absolutely delighted to be working with our partners to bring this pioneering programme to Lancashire school children.

"Thanks to the MEGA Hubs, we are able to help young people achieve their very best, from all backgrounds and from all walks of life, and we are incredibly proud of our cutting edge, innovative programme which really allows them to gain first hand insight into the very forefront of new technologies in the workplace.

"This scheme is about enabling young people to gain first hand insight into how they can gain new skills and use technology as part of their future careers.

"It will have a hugely beneficial impact by giving young people experience of just some of the highly skilled careers they could do in future."