Adults have mentors, kids should too.
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Our mentors aren’t just for the next exam. They’re for all the tests childhood throws, big or small.
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Self-confidence
Instilling confidence in young people is central to our mentoring.
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Love of learning
We facilitate engagement in school life through the power of the right mentor relationship.
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Academic success
Our team of mentors are trained to help students achieve their academic goals.
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Personal development
Alongside academic improvement, mentees are inspired to develop key soft skills.
Families
We pair mentors with children.
Where it all started: individual mentors trained and picked by our team to work with families. Parents worry about lack of confidence in their children and their engagement in school life. They want the right role model for their children. That’s where our mentors come in.
Schools
We develop character education in schools.
Oppidan is the market leader for personal development, relied upon by schools around the UK. We run mentoring programmes for young people, especially at big ‘life changing’ moments like moving to secondary school or facing adulthood.
Our mentors
Our mentors are the secret sauce.
A game-changing network of teachers, therapists and counsellors as well as civil servants, journalists and screenwriters – young professionals across industry who join Oppidan because they’re dedicated to the nurture of young people.
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Jack D
Pro Mentor
I am a qualified yoga and mindfulness instructor who played academy-level football and has music on Spotify.
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Conall M
Pro Mentor
Outside of being a full-time mentor, I am a lover of all kinds of music who aspires to one day live off home-grown vegetables.
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Alex C
Pro Mentor
I am a qualified teacher and professional mentor, who loves live music and scoring for their 7-a-side football team!
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Saul B
Pro Mentor
I am a Swahili-speaking, coral conservationist who makes soup and loves mountain adventures.
"If the idea of overly-academic tutoring makes you want to run for the hills, Oppidan’s character-based ethos may be just the ticket. Goodbye to soulless, prescriptive, hothouse learning and hello to fun, confidence-boosting sessions."
What they say
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Anya Hindmarch
Parent
“Oppidan has a completely fresh approach to others in the market. They “mentor the individual” rather than “tutor the child” which brings much more than just the exam results.”
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Justin Rose
Parent
“Oppidan is instrumental in providing excellent guidance. We can’t speak highly enough of them as role models and feel very reassured to have their support.”
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Jeremy Banks
Headmaster of Caldicott School
“Children with Oppidan feel empowered. I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone who believes the child should be at the heart of a great education.”
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Helen Demetriou
Research and Teaching Associate, University of Cambridge
“Oppidan mentors provide an invaluable service. Their empathic, authentic approach when engaging with learners enhances character and personal development, and ultimately develops autonomy and wellbeing.”
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Monica B
Parent
“The mentors are like no other. If you want someone extremely knowledgeable in a given subject matter who is actually passionate about engaging with children and helping meet their learning and life goals, this is it.”
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Tim F
Parent
“My daughter loves our Oppidan mentor. She always comes out of sessions happy and energised. The service is excellently tailored to our needs, and a great deal of thought is put into our daughter’s circumstances and how to help her develop.”
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Ken Annis
Deputy Head, Edgeborough School
“You provide an incredibly valuable service; comforting, supportive and challenging. Parents were hugely impressed.”
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Gabrielle M
Parent
“As a family, we have all been hugely impressed by Oppidan Education and we would not hesitate to recommend its services to other parents or older children looking for inspirational mentors and motivational ways to learn and study.”
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Saz S
Parent
“As a teacher with 16 years of experience, I can whole heartedly recommend you contact these guys. They see the whole child, and understand the pressure families are under. The results are great, and the process is calm. Thank you Oppidan.”
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Evis H
Parent
“We were looking for someone to engage him educationally outside of what is taught in the curriculum in school. The sessions are fun and engaging, yet teach our son how to think broadly and analytically and write concisely.”
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Peter T
Parent
“Your unique approach with your students certainly makes you stand out in the crowd among tutoring companies.”
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Amara L
Parent
“You have been a great addition to my arsenal of resources for getting my daughters ready for higher education!”
The latest stories
Frequently asked questions
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Evidence and research demonstrates that mentoring by young professionals provides a role-model figure who is not as connected to the school system as a teacher, enabling a stronger connection to develop.
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The social skills learned in mentoring sessions enable the child to develop better relations with peers, family, and teachers, leading to a cumulative positive effect on the child’s wellbeing and growth of their social capital. Mentoring also develops students’ sense of ownership, because sessions are less prescriptive, enabling the child to have a greater sense of autonomy. This leads to greater motivation and engagement.
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Tutoring is short-term support that focuses on immediate academic results, whereas mentoring is long-term support from a specifically chosen adult that seeks to build academic engagement and attainment.
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Our impact is assessed by our Impact & Research team who measure the effect of work for a family or a school throughout the programme. Reports are also provided to families every month from each mentor and impact reports shared with our partner schools.
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Young professionals across industry: teachers, therapists, counsellors, lawyers, actors and journalists who work with Oppidan because they believe in mentoring over tutoring. We have two types of mentors: professional, full-time mentors and freelance mentors. All mentors are fully trained and equipped with the Mentoring Handbook.
Download our free Mentoring Handbook.
Join our monthly newsletter and receive the lite version of our Mentoring Handbook, a collection of character-building exercises that you can do with your kids at home.