Staff and pupils at Melksham Oak School are delighted with the results of this year’s Year 11 mock GCSEs, held recently.

Martyn Dunn. learning director for year 11, who co-ordinated the efforts, said: “Our aim has been to provide an experience which is as close to the real thing as we can get.

“This began with formal revision sessions at the end of each day for a fortnight that the entire year group attended.

“It was supported by work in lessons and a structured revision programme in and out of school.

“Essentially we see this as a win-win situation. For those pupils who work hard and are successful, this experience should provide them with the confidence and the platform to push on to their summer GCSE exams and do well.

“For those pupils who have not done as well as they would have hoped, this provides them with an invaluable experience, and hopefully will strengthen their resolve to improve with guidance and support of our school and their families.

“We are extremely proud of our year 11s and the strong work ethic that they have shown.

“This has been matched by our staff who have been committed to driving them forward.

"We hope that this could be the springboard to improve again as we target our ambition to become a great school.”

The mock exam stars were rewarded with certificates of achievement: the top 10 achievers were: Tom Whiffing, Joe Harris, Megan Bush, Daisey Roseveare, Caitlin Mitchell, Andrew Spencer, Sam Day, Lauren Gilling, Tom Mitchell and Jojo Brickell, while the top 10 pupils who made progress against targets were Alice Lyons, Lauren Gerrish, Toby Benning Batstone, Michael McAlister, Daniel Bence, Ellen Croker, Amelia Doel, Clarice Elliott, Ruby Pickering and Alanta Ayliffe.