By SARAH HARKER

SUCCESS is on the cards for pupils at an Orford school after it adopted a unique self-esteem programme made famous by celebrity clients.

Top football stars Lee Sharpe and Andy Cole have both used the Investment in Excellence programme to improve their performance on the pitch.

But staff at William Beamont High School have adapted the course and reorganised curriculum time to boost the confidence and increase the potential of students through the scheme.

Teaching staff at the school were the first to undergo the Go For It initiative, devised in the United States.

They were so impressed by the results that they decided to direct their resources toward adapting it for pupils in years nine and 10. Six members of staff received further training enabling them to tutor the students.

Now 400 pupils are undergoing the three-day intensive scheme, which aims to transform their outlook, increasing positivity and self-confidence.

As part of the programme students are encouraged to look at new situations outside boundaries they are familiar with and envisage them with positive outcomes.

Teachers reinforce the idea that success has little to do with ability and more to do with self-belief, at the same time dealing with disappointments in a positive way.

Headteacher John O'Callaghan said: "We have a lot of confidence in this programme. We are trying to develop stronger self-belief in our students and higher expectations in their own ability.

"The thing that holds most people back is their lack of self-belief. Through the programme we are instilling self-confidence, positivity and self-esteem in our pupils.

"Until you have experienced the programme you cannot fully understand how effective it is."

The Go For It course is based around a series of videos, a personal resource manual, an audio package and structured discussion.

Feedback from a one-day taster course proved extremely popular, with students queueing up to do the full three-day course and 97 per cent of students agreeing that they felt more positive having completed just one day.