ITS skills in preparing students for the world of work have won Bournemouth's Avonbourne Trust a five star award.

Avonbourne has become the first school in Dorset to be awarded the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (BDP) Employment and Education Charter to add to its many other entrepreneurial accolades.

The Trust,which is also the first in southern England to become a Peter Jones Foundation School, was assessed earlier this year and given the highest possible score of five stars.

CEO of Avonbourne Trust, Debbie Godfrey-Phaure, said: “We are delighted to be the first academies to receive this award.

“As a business and enterprise trust, one of our core aims is to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in our students and get them prepared for the real life of work.

“It is something we are all extremely proud of and is what makes us that little bit more distinctive.”

Avonbourne Trust received this charter in the same week Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said preparing students for work will now become a key factor in how schools are assessed.