NATIONAL business brands have teamed up with Kirkby All Saints Centre for Learning to give its best and brightest a head start in industry.

Brands including BT, Dabs.com, Ellesse, Home Bargains and Balfour Beatty have joined forces with the school to provide resources, apprenticeships and mentoring for sixth- form students.

All Saints Centre for Learning has all the same challenges that other Knowsley schools face, with students from challenging backgrounds and poor performance in the league tables.

Now, says senior progress leader Ian Parry, the school and its students have to face the fact that many of its brightest students will not be able to afford to go to college, despite 92% of last year’s sixth-formers winning a place at their first-choice university.

The school has responded by inviting business into the classroom to show their students there are other ways to become professionally qualified.

Mr Parry insists this is not about lowering students’ expectations, but showing them new ways to success.

“We are inviting the leaders of national brands to come in and talk to our students, mentor them and give them real-world experience,” he said.

“We have had CEOs and MDs – and when they stand in front of students and say ‘I started out less qualified than you,’ that has an impact.”

All Saints specialises in business, IT and finance. So far, the school’s business partners have provided real-world material for course modules, including videos and online tutorials given by directors.

The companies are offering incentives – such as lap-tops for recent award winners at the school – but, more importantly, a year’s mentoring with business bosses, paid summer internships and experience of the pre-Christmas rush in retail, all designed to give the young people genuine insight and skills for the workplace.

In October, Steve Granite , managing director of Merseyside-based Abbey Logistics, a former All Saints student, went to spend a day with young people, coaching them through real-world financial and marketing challenges. He was offering six mentoring places and two apprenticeships with professional qualifications funded by Abbey.

“I was surprised at the level of enthusiasm and the high level of business thinking at such young ages,” he said.

“We had a real challenge selecting the final six for mentoring and had to hold interviews with 12 students to make a final decision.

“Afterwards, we still could not choose six and ended up with seven students for the mentoring programme. The students were enthusiastic. Despite most of the 70 sixth- formers having set their hearts on university, some said they would consider becoming professionally qualified while working.”

“I would take the apprenticeship instead of going to university,” said one.