Mentoring Works celebrates its 22nd year
The 22nd year of the Year 10 Mentoring Works programme has come to an end with the close of the academic year this month and we have celebrated relationships and successes with a series of events throughout the City and beyond.
This year, with the support of our corporate partners and the Careers & Enterprise Company, we have been able to work with more mentors and mentees than ever – and what a great year it has been.
A total of approximately 430 students have been supported by 240 mentors, across London, South East and Coast to Capital, in the following partnerships: Schroders and Mossbourne Community Academy, CMS and Cardinal Pole Catholic School, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Haggerston School, Linklaters with Clapton Girls’ Academy and Duke’s Aldridge Academy, Clyde & Co and Societe Generale with Hackney New School, Morgan Stanley and Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, KPMG with Lister Community School and Oasis Academy Silvertown, American Express and ‘Inspiring the Future’ mentors supporting the Varndean School, with further ‘Inspiring the Future’ volunteers from Maidstone and Croydon supporting St Simon Stock Catholic School, Harris Academy South Norwood and Oasis Academy Shirley Park.
With recognition events across the regions, kindly hosted by our corporate partners, large groups of volunteers and students came together in a spirit of celebration for all their hard work, commitment and growth over the past year.
We learnt that the mentors and mentees have been meeting regularly at the mentors’ work place and we have learnt about the scope of topics they have looked at including CV writing, interview techniques, presentation skills, university options, career options, finding work experience, networking and business skills, revision, organisational skills, meeting their mentors’ colleagues and professional contacts in their fields of interest.
The highlights, as ever, were hearing from the mentors and mentees themselves and many were brave enough to stand up and speak to the room about what they have learnt and the impact that mentoring has had. Some headline quotes included students saying:
“We’ve learnt and developed so much, our mentor has been amazing and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about him or the programme.”
“Mentoring Works has been the best experience ever, I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor, I have grown as a person, we have discovered who we are and built a firm foundation for the future.”
Whilst mentors from the programme said:
“The students have made the most of this opportunity and me as a resource, young people are so interesting and I have learnt a lot too.”
“I am so proud of my unbelievably mature and polite students. They have grown in confidence and ability throughout this programme and I know that they are going to go far.”
With just the school summer break between us and a new programme, we look forward to the Mentoring Works programme 2018-2019 launching in September and October this year.
Established in 1996, ELBA’s Mentoring Works programme matches Year 10 and Sixth Form students to business professionals. Students are encouraged to develop the skills and competencies needed for future education, training or careers. Mentoring Works has been assessed and accredited with the Approved Provider Standard (APS) by the Mentoring & Befriending Foundation. The APS is the national quality standard designed specifically for all types of mentoring and befriending projects.
