It should be every pupil's nightmare – being under the watchful eye of not one, but 17 teachers all at once.

But this radical method of "saturation teaching" has actually proved a hit with youngsters at a Bath school and even boosted their grades.

Since October, trainee teachers from Bath Spa University have been drafted in to assist with lessons in science, music, PE and English. They join the class of 28 pupils once a week to help deliver lessons and reinforce what is being taught by the pupils' usual subject teacher.

The concept is the brainchild of John Lee, Bath Spa University's PCGE course leader in secondary science, who sees it as mutually beneficial to pupils, teachers and trainees alike. The Western Daily Press witnessed the fascinating educational project in action at one of the main partner schools, Culverhay Boys in Bath.

A group of 14 trainee teachers (two trainees were off sick) joined the classroom teacher to assist a Year 9 science class as they learn about the reflection and refraction of light as part of their physics curriculum. The youngsters, all aged 13 and 14, were initially taught en masse for five minutes, before splintering off into groups of six, to work more intensively with two trainees on practical demonstrations of what they had learned.

Mr Lee, who spent most of his career before joining Bath Spa teaching science at Kingswood School in Bristol, watched on in approval.

He said: "We began this project last year and because our education centre is so close to Culverhay, they were one of the first to form a partnership with us.

"Already we have seen the pupils' attention spans improve and they have become very focused on the activities, because we make them slightly competitive and we relate science to everyday things. The initial feedback from our trainees is that it has improved their confidence and ability to engage with the children before they go on official teaching practice."

Mr Lee, who attends each lesson with the trainees, said it had helped them develop lesson plans and allowed him to observe them working and recommend areas for improvement.

"The best thing they are learning is communication and how to talk to teenagers and what language to use. These will prove invaluable once they are in the classroom on their own.

"We also have them working like this with pupils with complex learning difficulties so they can understand the skill level needed in teaching these children."

Because the children are taught on an almost one-to-one basis, it is hoped the scheme will help to better prepare the boys for their GCSE exams. Trainee Dan Holliday will start his first job as a science teacher at Norton Hill School in Radstock next September.

He said: "We began this project before our work placements and it was the first real time in the classroom for a lot of trainees.

"I've just come back from a year's teaching in Beijing, so I did have some prior experience, but this was really vital in helping us plan lessons and build a rapport with the pupils.

"They seem to enjoy the extra attention and we can really focus on them and make sure they understand everything.

"It's also less daunting for them to approach us, because if they don't understand something in class, sometimes they might be too shy to put their hand up and ask in front of 30 other people, but they can just ask us quietly and they learn faster too."

For classmates Harry Drew, 14, Sam Huntley, 14 and Jake Targett,14, the project has, somewhat unexpectedly, been fun.

Harry said: "They give us one-to-one attention which does make the lessons much less boring and you concentrate much more. When my parents heard about it they were really pleased and I think it is helping with my homework."

Sam said: "They make the classes and the subject interesting and help you to understand things so you remember them afterwards."

Jake said: "What I like about it is you're not just writing, it's a lot more practical. I wish more lessons could be like this."

For Culverhay's acting head teacher Sean Wyartt and the science department head teacher Steve Hewett, anything that encourages their pupils to enjoy learning and boost their achievements deserves praise.

Mr Wyartt said: "Not only does this unique initiative support teacher training, but also our pupils. They benefit enormously in terms of their learning and, even more importantly, their aspiration levels are raised by working with young people they can relate to."

The scheme is proving so successful that Mr Lee hopes it can be rolled out nationally.

There is a downside for the pupils though – all the trainee teachers do still insist on being called "Sir" or "Miss".