Staff and students at Abbeyfield School celebrated four years of successful partnership with the Chippenham Chamber of Commerce this week.

Members of the chamber visited the school to mark the anniversary on Monday.

Under the partnership students have set up a young chamber, which promotes business and enterprise skills among staff and students, and also regularly gives presentations and helps out at chamber events.

Assistant headteacher Mark Fuller said: “The chamber of commerce have been really supportive of the work we do in school.

“We have had several students who have had job or university offers on the strength of the skills they have developed as a result of this partnership.”

The effectiveness and quality of the partnership was commented on by Ofsted in its last inspection, when the link was praised as an example of outstanding practice.

The partnership has been recognised both nationally, with an invitation for the young chamber to give a presentation on their work in Hounslow, and internationally, when the school and chamber of commerce hosted a delegation from Dubai last year.

Members of the young chamber were also instrumental in setting up a similar scheme at Abbeyfield’s partner school in the Gambia this year.

Based on the success of this scheme, which sees chamber members mentor students, similar partnerships have been set up in Trowbridge and Wootton Bassett.