AVONBOURNE College students are being given a helping hand by their teachers who are going above and beyond to make sure pupils get the very best support.

Like teenagers everywhere, the hard-working students are knuckling down for their exams and being given a helping hand by staff - some of whom are even giving up their free time in the Easter holidays to help them prepare with booster sessions.

“It’s all about exams this time of the year. The pressure is on and we really feel for them,” says head of college Jason Holbrook.

“It’s another example of the staff going out of their way to help them get through and it’s free.”

Mr Holbrook says it’s just one example of the supportive community that makes the school special.

“It’s a great school,” he says. “We achieve that through having dedicated staff and through the great lessons that they teach and the students’ experience.”

Mr Holbrook, who has been at the school since 2007 when he started as assistant head, said the school does everything it can to support its pupils in every way.

“It’s a vibrant and active school community. It is the best school I have ever worked in. It is the staff, the curriculum and the opportunity the staff create for the students.”

Mr Holbrook, who formerly taught at The Arnewood School in New Milton, said highlights of the school for him include their International Middle Years Curriculum rate and the school’s English Baccalaureate.

“It’s the highest in the authority after the selective schools,” he says. “We do really well in our curriculum. Through our unique ethos there are many opportunities and we have students who go on to win national competitions, and it brings in a whole range of schools.

“It’s really exciting and we’re really proud of the school and the students within it.

“The IMYC: it’s a more themed approached to learning,” he adds. “As students go into the advanced years of key stage 4 they do really well, compared nationally.

“Avonbourne is unique. It’s a special place.

“The quality is exceptional here, both on the academic side but in terms of the productions too; it’s such a high calibre.

“It helps to develop confidence.”

Students have also benefitted from foreign trips including Finland, Hungary and Spain, which Mr Holbrook says helps the students to become “outward-looking”.

“It shows there’s a life beyond Bournemouth,” he smiles.

CEO of the school trust, Debbie Godfrey-Phaure, added: “I am immensely proud of the achievements of staff and students at Avonbourne College.

“They manage to achieve excellent results whilst demonstrating good citizenship and an entrepreneurial spirit which sees them always striving to make the world a better place to live in for all.”