Exam preparation is no longer about endless hours with a text book in your bedroom at home for students in Witham.

Students are instead given a timetable of revision conferences, trips and away days to fully prepare them for exam season.

Teachers and teaching assistants from Maltings Academy, in Spinks Lane, and New Rickstones Academy, in Conrad Road, give up their time to offer students the very best chance of success in their GCSE and A-level tests.

John Szynal, executive principal for both academies, said: “In Witham, we are always looking for the ‘Witham’ edge: something that will give our students that extra step up in their educational journey and give them a head start in the race for college places and job searches.

“These sessions are designed give specific help to individuals and have proved immensely successful. The staff always give freely of their time and in my 30 years of teaching, I have never worked with staff - both teaching and non-teaching - who are as committed as the staff in Witham. Myself, students and parents greatly appreciate their professionalism.”

Lead examiners from exam board AQA and an Academies Enterprise Trust literacy consultant spent a tailormade English revision day with Year 11 students from Maltings and New Rickstones at Five Lakes.

Students were also given the opportunity to attend a five-hour revision session on the Saturday and after-school sessions in the week leading up to when exams began to ensure their knowledge was fresh in their minds.

Year 11 top set maths students from both academies took part in an inter Academies Enterprise Trust competition at the University of Essex.

During the visit, students took part in five seminars and presentations, with teams having to answer A and A* grade GCSE questions quickly and accurately to secure points.

Forty students from across both academies spent a day at Five Lakes concentrating on topics which would enable them to make the most progress and come up most regularly in exams.

Year 11 students from Maltings who were feeling anxious about their science exams or were predicted to be on the C/D grade border took an overnight trip to Danbury.

Each day, the group spent seven hours revising every aspect of their upcoming GCSE in the first science trip of its kind.

GCSE and A/S-level business students from New Rickstones benefitted from intensive revision days at Westfield shopping centre and in Fulham Broadway.

Exam performance specialists tutor2u put students through their paces focusing on exam questions and how to structure their answers correctly.