Mentoring at prep school
The Prep Journey is a two-year personal development programme for Year 5 and 6 students to learn the essential skills for secondary school assessments and interviews.
We work with
Why the Prep Journey?
The Prep Journey focuses on both character education and excellent future schools outcomes.
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Bespoke, long-term approach
Students benefit from highly personalised sessions and workshops across both Years 5 and 6.
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Supports schools in meeting ISI (2023) personal development expectations
The programme develops pupils’ self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence (ISI, 2023).
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Inspirational team of mentors
Our mentors reflects a diverse and exciting professional group that can energise and inspire students.
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Reporting for both school and parents
Schools receive a full impact report, whilst parents receive individual reports on their child’s progress.
How it works
Journey timeline
Autumn Y5
Launch Day
Individual 1:1 sessions for each student fostering an early understanding of character and virtue.
Spring/Summer Y5
Communication Day
After a group assembly for the whole year group, mentors run 30-minute 1:1 sessions with students to learn four key communication skills.
Summer Y5
Team Day
Replicating an adult assessment day with a keen eye on school group assessments, this is outdoor learning (weather permitting) focused on child-to-child interaction, teamwork and communication.
Autumn Y6
Interview Day
Students have another opportunity to hone their interview skills with 1:1 sessions with a mentor and a school-specific mock interview.
Spring Y6
Graduation Day
As students prepare for the next steps of their education, our mentors run final workshops to reflect on successes and setbacks, and put together a game plan for the future.
Metrics that matter
8.6
How valuable students rate the Prep Journey out of 10
+20%
Increase in how prepared students feel to handle an interview in the future
+14%
Increase in how confident students feel about their move to secondary school
Testimonials
What they say
Reports platform
Once the journey has begun, the platform showcases real time student progress, reduces teacher workload and enables easy communication between Oppidan, parents and the school.
Platform features
Detailed reports with actionable feedback
Follow up resources for use at home
Easy, secure access with no login needed
Key information on programmes and mentors
Journey in action
Prep school case studies
Frequently asked questions
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Having worked with 100+ schools in the UK and abroad, schools greatly value our experience in essential skills and the highly personalised learning our mentors deliver.
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In designing our content, we’ve worked closely with the Oxford Character Project and the Skills Builder Partnership. You can learn more about our framework and research here.
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We have developed our own, tailored resources based on almost a decade of experience in mentoring students one-to-one and in groups. Driven by our early adopters, our content responds to schools’ needs and the desire to make our programmes relevant and engaging.
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Oppidan is regularly asked to support with inset days and teacher CPD. As experts in character, we’re committed to ensuring that the staff room understands and supports our involvement. We’ll provide additional resources and our character handbook to further lighten the load for teachers.
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Every Oppidan mentor has an enhanced DBS check and has been trained in safeguarding. We share our policies with a school as we begin our partnership and always support the specific safeguarding needs and regulations in each setting.
