TEENAGERS preparing for their GCSEs in two Worcester high schools will, this year, receive some extra training to help them make the grade.

Newly-qualified Learning Mentors from University College Worcester will visit Christopher Whitehead High School and Elgar Technology College in the run-up to summer exams.

The undergraduates will offer one-to-one support in a variety of subjects to help the 14 to 16-year-olds perform as well as possible.

The students are the first group in the county to participate in the Government's National Mentoring scheme.

Organiser, Matt Clulee, from the St John's college's Widening Participation team, said the aim was to give teenagers a little extra help in securing their exam goals.

"Students will be working with more than 100 pupils from Year 9 to Year 11 in the run-up to their exams, which for many will be their GCSEs," he said.

"The mentor scheme has proved a real success in other areas. In many cases it has helped pupils to raise their grades by a level, or maybe more.

"We hope to repeat this success in Herefordshire and Worcestershire and expand the course next year."

The group of 27 mentors will also help out in Queen Elizabeth High School, in Bromyard, and John Masefield High School, in Ledbury.

Each mentor has been assigned to a particular school and they will make 12 school visits during the academic year.