As any Dragons’ Den enthusiast will know having a mentor can be the key to transformation and educational research has confirmed the value of mentoring in schools. Wallace High School Head of Careers Mr Paul Beaton and Senior Teacher Miss Heather Gracey recently trained almost 60 Year 13 students to act as mentors. The training day is based upon accredited material from the charity Childline and involves the students in a series of activities designed to help them understand how to offer effective peer support.
Wallace uses its mentors to assist pastoral staff with Year 8 class assemblies and transition issues. There is a weekly programme to be followed and past experience has shown that the Year 8 pupils benefit greatly from this contact. Other mentors assume academic support duties assisting younger pupils with individual subjects, study skills and revision techniques. Post course evaluation indicated almost 100% satisfaction with the training and over 50 % of students completed the optional comment section to express enjoyment of the day.
Mr Beaton noted “We are committed to developing the use of mentors as it is a great opportunity for senior pupils to develop their skills and assume meaningful responsibility. The younger pupils really benefit from their advice and experience.”
Mentors will also be helping with the Homework Club in the library which runs from Monday to Thursday each week.
Last modified: October 6, 2011
