MEMBERS of the public are invited to watch stone carving students at work.

Weymouth College, which teaches stone masonry training courses, is hosting the Boss Stone Carving Competition at its Poundbury campus until tomorrow.

The competition has been held for the past 20 years to showcase the ability of the college’s pupils and to give the students a taste of what it is like working as a professional stone carver.

Weymouth College vice principal Rob Jones said: “We’re proud of the quality of our stonemasonry teaching at Weymouth College.

“Our students are amongst the best in the world and regularly represent the UK at the WorldSkills events.

The Boss Stone Carving Competition provides an opportunity to celebrate our students’ work and test their skills in the type of pressurised environment they will encounter in the workplace.”

A boss stone is a carving that forms the meeting point of several converging vaulting ribs. They remain some of the finest surviving medieval stone carvings still in existence and are often intricately carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations, including animals, birds or human figures or faces.

In the competition, students have two and a half days to carve their own boss stone from a block to exacting standards before their creations are put before the judges, who will be marking on attention to detail and creative ability.