28th January 2022
A group of thirteen Year 12 students from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College are currently delivering a pioneering 10 week mentoring programme to Year 7 pupils at a South Bristol secondary school.
This is a pilot scheme being run by Bristol Achieve and the University of the West of England which has been set up to try to increase social mobility by giving children in areas with fewer opportunities the tools to become future leaders. The programme is looking at the benefits of intergenerational mentoring for the development and sharing of skills across the city. It connects the expertise of the business community in Bristol, with sixth form students, who in turn link to younger mentees.
The aim of the programme is to boost life skills such as oracy, communication and team work and also to foster a love of reading for pleasure. Over the 10 weeks St Brendan’s students are working closely with their mentees to build up their confidence. The programme will culminate in a challenge event, which will see the Year 7s being interviewed by their Head Teacher about the book that they have been reading and discussing with their mentor.
In preparation for this programme, the St Brendan’s students all received training from top accountancy firm PwC. They each attended a training day at the PwC offices as well as a mid-programme workshop.
The positive benefit to the mentors is that they are gaining great life experience, taking responsibility for their role and its effectiveness and it is also encouraging them to develop and improve their leadership skills. This will also give them the edge on a UCAS personal statements and job applications.
Phoebe one of the St Brendan’s mentors says “we've got a lot of skills we're trying to improve, so for my group organisation was one of the main things, and they have definitely improved across the 8 weeks I have been helping them out.”
George another mentor reflects "I think this definitely helps, it's a matter of early intervention ensuring young people get the best opportunities."
Hetty Brown who teaches English at St Brendan’s is leading the project. She says “We are so proud of all the young people taking part. The programme sees genuine bonds being formed and skills developed across the city that will benefit different areas and individuals in many different ways.”
The impact of the activities is being captured through the research team at the University of the West of England. This includes student surveys, student interviews, interviews with staff of both mentors and mentees, interviews with PwC staff and other data points of significance. It is hoped that the mentoring of these young people can continue throughout their school and college years and that the programme can be expanded across the city.
News of the scheme has been picked up by the media and BBC Points West this week went along to see it in action – they were so impressed that they ran the story as their lead lunchtime news piece and featured it on their website – the link to this is here:
