Mentoring at secondary school

We mentor students in schools at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 to develop essential skills and improve academic outcomes.

We work with

What we do

Secondary programmes

Our mentoring in secondary schools prepares students for exams and inspires them for life beyond school. The following programmes can be delivered as standalone days or in combination as a 'Journey'. Almost all of the schools that we work with do so on a 'Journey' format.

Mentor Training Journey 

The Mentor Training Journey trains older students to be mentors to younger students within their school before reflecting (in a 1:1 context) on their experience as mentors.

  • Fast-paced and full of activities and big discussions, students are trained to be mentors in their schools through three modules:

    1. Introduction to Mentoring

    2. What Makes a Good Mentor?

    3. Hit the Ground Running

    Each session is 60 minutes long, with one Oppidan mentor for every group of 8-10 students.

  • Later in the school year, each student mentor has a 1:1 session with an Oppidan mentor, reflecting on the highlights and challenges of mentoring younger students, as well as on the skills that they have developed and how they plan to use them further in the future.

    • 15-minute morning reflection

    • Series of 25-minute 1:1 sessions with an Oppidan mentor

    • Personalised report and actionable feedback for each student

COR Mentoring Journey

The COR Mentoring Journey is a series of termly 1:1 mentoring sessions for secondary students, each one focused on one of our key outcomes: character, oracy and readiness.

  • Individual 1:1 sessions for each student reflecting on their character and identity, as well as what drives them and makes them unique.

    Each day involves:

    • 15-minute morning assembly

    • 25-minute 1:1 sessions with an Oppidan mentor

    • Personalised report and actionable feedback for each student

  • Individual 1:1 sessions for each student aimed at developing their oracy skills, including speaking, listening and presenting, taking the format of a mock interview.

    Each day involves:

    • 15-minute morning assembly

    • 25-minute 1:1 sessions with an Oppidan mentor

    • Personalised report and actionable feedback for each student

  • Individual 1:1 sessions for each student fostering an understanding of the value of setting goals, before setting a clear goal and setting out actionable steps to achieve it.

    Each day involves:

    • 15-minute morning assembly

    • 25-minute 1:1 sessions with an Oppidan mentor

    • Personalised report and actionable feedback for each student

Please note: although most schools work with us on a Journey format, these workshops can be delivered as group sessions (3 x 1-hour) over the course of a day.

Metrics that matter

8.3

How beneficial students think having a mentor is out of 10

+24%

Increase in how often students review their career goals after the programme

+18%

Increase in how much students feel they matter within their community

Testimonials

What they say

In action

Secondary case studies

Frequently asked questions

  • Schools we work with often mention the same three key areas of value:

    • Removed from the everyday school environment, mentors provide a more objective voice providing motivation and clarity to students.

    • With detailed reporting and 1:1 sessions, our team offer a level of personalisation that’s difficult to recreate in school.

    • Impetus and consistency: our team offer energy and long-termism to mentoring schemes, providing the resources and structure needed for meaningful impact.

  • The Skills Builder Partnership accredits our work (Level 2) and borrows from research with the Oxford Character Project. Our work is also undergoing accreditation from the Association of Character Education to receive its Quality Mark.

  • Our resources are built in-house by our education team, several of whom are former teachers. We work closely with the Jubilee Centre and the OCP. Proprietary resources are a key part of our value offering.

  • 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.

  • Every Oppidan mentor has an enhanced DBS check and has been trained in safeguarding. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead at Oppidan is our co-founder Walter Kerr. We share our policies with a school as we begin our partnership and always support the specific safeguarding needs and regulations in each setting.

  • Pricing is on a per student model with the journey the cheapest model for students. For cohort size of 56 students, the whole journey costs just £150. State funded schools are eligible to receive up to 50% of the programme cost through grant funding from the Oppidan Foundation.

Start mentoring at your school.