Mentoring

Peer and Academic Mentoring

Mentoring at Townley takes two forms – peer and academic mentoring. Peer and academic mentoring provide opportunities for Year 12 and 13 students to contribute to the life of the school while developing leadership skills and attributes. They do this in various capacities.

The Sixth Formers mentor lower school students in a range of subjects and pastoral matters such as the transition to secondary school or a new phase of academic life, for example Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4 and preparation for their GCSEs.

This provides an opportunity to hone leadership skills as mentors are required to be reliable and responsible as they embark on a shared learning experience with their mentees, honouring their weekly commitments to supporting and guiding their mentees in an attempt to achieve goals and targets set at the start of the mentoring process. Some of the skills developed throughout the process while helping others include:

• Communication skills;

• Listening skills;

• Motivational skills; and

• Organisational skills

With the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, at the end of the mentoring cycle mentors and mentees together improve their subject knowledge and understanding of how best to acquire knowledge, study and learn effectively.