ACADEMICS at Cambridge University have praised a school for coming up with a groundbreaking teaching method.

Pupils at Hurworth School Maths and Computing College scored among the top marks in the country after teachers introduced an innovative mentoring programme.

Every student meets with a teacher to agree an academic performance target and their progress is then assessed in monthly meetings.

The Assertive Mentoring scheme led to a remarkable turnaround in GCSE marks.

Before the plan was put into practice in 1998, Hurworth languished in the schools league tables with less than 38 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades. Now the school is one of the top performers in the UK after 92 per cent of students scored a minimum of five A* to Cs last year.

In a national newspaper interview, Mike Younger, the director of teaching at Cambridge University, said the initiative has had a particularly positive effect on the exam results of male students.

"Where heads and staff are fully behind assertive mentoring, and pupils have bought in to it, it has had a big impact," he said.

"It can create a context where students, particularly boys, have the confidence to talk to teachers and each other about their work.

"At Hurworth, it gained credibility because mentors - senior members of staff - would negotiate with the class teacher on behalf of the pupil.

"One of the main aspects of assertive mentoring is that it makes big demands on students.

"It sets them significant challenges. A pupil can justify working because his mentor is challenging him. Several of his mates who are also being mentored are in the same position. In that way, students can protect their self-image and work at the same time."

Hurworth headteacher Dean Judson introduced the scheme after joining the school in 1996.

"If I could point to one thing that has turned around the performance of our pupils it would be the assertive mentoring scheme," he said.

"When I came to the school we did a lot of work to improve academic standards and behaviour, but nothing had any impact on exam results.

"That's when we came up with assertive mentoring.

"We have since taken the idea out to schools conferences all over the place. We're doing talks in Birmingham and Perth later this month, and in the past we have even been to British schools in Germany and Cyprus.

"It has proved to be very popular.