A Shirebrook school has launched a new drive to encourage male students to raise their aspirations by installing a wall of fame aimed specifically at praising boys.

Shirebrook Academy has launched its Boys Will Be Brilliant! scheme, which celebrates the successes that male students experience in their studies, sports and activities.

It has installed the large boys-only wall of fame in the school atrium, which includes a High Five! League of male students in each year, who are ranked by the amount of points they earn through good conduct.

There are also individual testimonies from teachers singling out students who have displayed excellence at sport or in the classroom on a Boys Only Wall of Pride.

Andy Gilbert, vice-principal of Shirebrook Academy, said: “Persistent under-performance of boys in school is a big issue and while plenty of schools will have their own schemes to raise boys’ ambitions, I don’t know of any which have been quite so overt about it as we have.

“Our display is making a very big statement and we’re saying that we want to change the traditional male culture in school, which suggests it isn’t cool to work hard or strive to do well at studies — and that it’s acceptable or even admirable to muck about.

“That’s the kind of behaviour that has been legitimised by the saying ‘boys will be boys’, which is why our campaign is called Boys Will Be Brilliant.

“There are a great many boys in school who do get on in school and who work hard, and, by openly praising them, it’s sending out a message to everyone else to say it’s worth following their example.”

“So far, it’s working extremely well. We have had one or two comments asking why we don’t have a display or a similar campaign for girls, but once we explain the thinking behind it, everyone agrees that it’s a good idea.”

The school is also appealing for men in the community to get in touch and volunteer as role models, who could go into school to talk to boys about their lives and their careers.

Shirebrook Academy student Ben Clarke and vice-principal Andy Gilbert with the school’s boys-only wall of fame.