STUDENTS at a Portland secondary school are taking learning into their own hands with an electronic system that looks set to raise standards and aspirations.

Royal Manor Arts College has been awarded Centre of Excellence status for Vocational and Applied E-Learning.

Vision2learn is an electronic learning approach to raising standards by allowing students to access a wide range of applied and vocational learning qualifications anywhere, anytime, just like in the world of work.

Students of all abilities and ages from 14 upwards will be able to work independently and at their own pace.

Guided by a teacher, they work towards qualifications that will enable them to gain employment more easily when they have left school.

The qualifications are all nationally recognised and are the equivalent to GCSE grades A* to C for Level 2 qualifications and grades G to D for Level 1 qualifications.

Royal Manor currently has about 300 Key Stage 4 students benefiting from the programme.

Rob Russell, deputy headteacher at Royal Manor Arts College said: “Our outstanding success in delivering high levels of student progress last year was due partly to our use of innovative approaches to learning, of which vision2-learn is a good example.

“We believe that e-learning is a powerful and exciting tool for supporting high quality traditional classroom-based learning.

“As a centre of excellence, we look forward to sharing our expertise with other local schools and developing fur-ther potential to involve adult learners.”

Royal Manor will now offer to provide expert training for teachers in other Dorset schools, starting with the secondary schools in the Chesil Education Partnership.

The initiative will enable all local students to share the benefits that Royal Manor students presently experience.

Emma Hilary from vision2- learn said: “Everyone at vision2learn for schools works with passion to create equal opportunities to realise all students’ potential, regardless of ability.

“We are delighted to have designated Royal Manor Arts College as a centre of excellence for furthering the development of vocational and applied e-learning.”