GCSE students at The Kingswinford School have been waking up to healthy start to the day thanks to the Co-op which has donated £10,000 worth of breakfast goodies to try and help fuel better exam results.

The Co-Op agreed to dish out almost 4,500 food and drink items to Year 11 pupils during their GCSE exam period to help them gain top marks - after the Water Street academy estimated two thirds of teenagers are missing out on vital brain food by skipping the first meal of the day and failing to hydrate properly.

As part of the project, the Co-op has been handing out bananas, breakfast bars and other products from its healthy snacking range plus bottled mineral water to youngsters at pre-exam breakfast clubs to test the widely held belief that eating a healthy breakfast can boost focus, energy and concentration.

Richard Hatley, regional manager for the Co-op, said: "The students are at a critical time in their journey through education. As a community retailer we were keen to support the school's work through a scheme that not only raises awareness of the importance of health and well-being, but can potentially deliver educational improvement and a boost to grades too."

Simon Baggott, director of community partnerships at the school, added: "Our work with the Co-Op looks at behaviour and attitudes towards healthy and active lifestyles, and if we can show that we can boost exam results too then it really will have been a remarkable result."