A Norfolk school has turned to psychological methods used by top sporting stars in an effort to improve pupils' self-believe and performance.

Litcham School, near Dereham, has teamed up with a teacher, therapist and life coach to bring his course to youngsters taking their GCSEs, as well as teachers. Michael Warwick said a study of his Exam Magic programme, carried out with the University of Hertfordshire's psychology department, found it helped boost GCSE results.

Headteacher Jim Adams said, in one exercise, students were asked to envisage the results they could get in their GCSEs and write them down.

The teachers then formatted them like exam results slips, put them in envelopes, and presented them to the pupils at a mock results day event later in the term.

He said: 'They will reflect on how that felt and it will encourage them to take the actions they need to make them successful.

'A lot of the students feel they are told they will fail, so they never try. This is trying to reverse that, in a way. It's trying to get students to think about what it is like to be successful. It's a way of getting youngsters to set themselves aspirational goals and carrying out the actions they need to achieve them.'

Mr Warwick said: 'The sessions are experiential and fun, so the learning happens naturally, rather than being something you have to work at understanding.'

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