GWENT pupils on the borderline of getting top-grade GCSEs are getting their exam chances boosted by a Newport scheme.

The Easter revision classes are being held at Allt-yr-yn campus of UWCN and have attracted a number of top rugby internationals to encourage pupils from schools across Gwent.

International stars including Kevin Morgan, Craig Morgan and Gareth Llewellyn have all added their support to the scheme, which is paid for by education and training agency ELWa, and coinmeter TV specialists Buy As You View.

The Llantrisant-based company, which sponsors Pontypridd RFC, provides £130,000, as does ELWa, and the project has helped 25,000 pupils at nine sites across South Wales. John Griffiths, AM, deputy minister for economic development, praised the scheme.

He said: "It's a vital project and one that has worked really well. It shifts kids from what employers regard as a fail mark to what employers see as a pass.

"Last year 63 per cent of the students achieved C grades or above in the subjects where they had received extra tuition."

The scheme targets pupils at all comprehensive schools who are predicted D and E grades in the core subjects of the National Curriculum, and offers them a week of intensive revision in small classes of 17 pupils or fewer. The students study past papers and learn specific revision techniques to help them tackle their forthcoming exams.

*PICTURED: Newport and Wales rugby player Ian Gough with GCSE pupils Amy Buckley (left) and Sarah Pinnell.