X Factor prep course wants to help you be a hit with the judges

Would Rylan Clark had gone further in the X Factor if he had taken a prep course at Bishop Auckland College? Photograph: Ken McKay/Thames / Rex Features

ITV's conundrum over how to spice up the next series of X Factor to arrest a ratings slump might just have been solved by a college in County Durham. Bishop Auckland College is launching an "X Factor Preparation Course" which will help those that sign up with "singing, performing and auditioning", the Daily Mail reports. The college is charging £95 for a 17-week programme, surely a bargain compared to the worldwide fame that awaits.