Oxford Brookes University Mentoring Scheme
LEAD ORGANISATION
ADDITIONAL ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED
PROJECT SUMMARY
Wheatley Park School contacted Oxford Brookes to ask whether the University would be interested in delivering a mentoring programme in the school. They suggested targeting a specific group of 30 students from year 11, who were on a C-D borderline in their GCSEs, but should, in the opinion of the school, be capable of at least a C or above.
The mentors were Oxford Brookes University undergraduate students who had attended schools in the local area. The scheme specifically set out to recruit mentors who lived locally in Oxfordshire and had attended similar types of schools to the young people they would be working with.
Training for the mentors took the form of a day's training session, covering child protection, the role of the mentor and the objectives of the scheme. It also provided advice on working with groups of students and information on alternative routes into higher education. Mentors were introduced to their mentees at a 'Meet your Mentor' event, and goals were discussed.
IMPACT
30 school students and 7 undergraduate mentors participated in the mentoring programme.
The scheme aimed to target Level 2 students who were believed to have the potential to progress to higher education and to support these students in achieving their Level 2 qualification. 80% of the school students who provided feedback said that the scheme had helped them with their schoolwork. In addition to supporting the students in their academic work, the scheme also included activities aimed at increasing their confidence in learning, as the students participating were not achieving the standard that they were believed capable of. 60% of the students who provided feedback agreed that their confidence in their learning had increased. One mentee described how his grades had increased because he had 'been more focused' since doing the mentoring and as he had 'been revising a lot more' his confidence had increased.
Another important aim of the scheme was to raise the school students' awareness of higher education opportunities, including foundation courses, Foundation degrees and Honours degrees. Sessions were held throughout the year on future options and their requirements in terms of qualifications at Levels 2 and 3. Informal chats between mentor and mentee proved one of the most effective ways of putting this information across. One mentor fed back that:
"The mentees involved in the scheme have had the opportunity to talk in length one on one about their plans for the future [which has] contributed to their confidence to pursue their goals'
The scheme proved a way of forging a closer relationship between the University and one of its local schools in the Oxfordshire Schools Partnership, thereby fulfilling one of the University's own objectives to work in closer partnership with local state schools as part of the 14-19 agenda. Wheatley Park School was not part of the Aimhigher programme and its students would not therefore have been able to benefit from the Aimhigher Associates scheme. This project gave Wheatley Park students the opportunity to get to know students currently studying at the local university. Additionally, Wheatley Park's sixth form has shown an interest in getting involved and the scheme has received positive press coverage as an example of good practice.