Ages 6 - 15, where the upper grades mentor the lower grades.

• Promoting reading culture, developing literacy skills, fostering peer support, developing mentoring and leadership skills in older students.

• Pairing mentors and mentees fosters proximity not only in the physical sense, but also in the psychological sense, as sharing the experience of reading and spending time together strengthens the bonds between them.

• Mentors and mentees are connected through a common interest - the love of reading. This common interest serves as a basis for developing relationships and facilitating identification between students of different ages.

• By reading and discussing books together, mentors and mentees 'close' stories together, which helps younger learners understand and interpret literature at a deeper level. Individual reading experiences are also completed through sharing and reflection, creating a sense of wholeness and satisfaction.

• Through year-round mentoring and regular meetings, a natural flow of learning and mutual understanding develops. Students in the upper grades pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm for reading to the younger grades, creating a lasting tradition of reading culture in the school.

• Library or access to books, space for silent reading, reading logs

1-2 hours Initial training of mentors. Weekly meetings: 30-60 minutes per week throughout the school year.

1. Train upper grade students interested in the role of mentor to work with younger students and instruct them on how to stimulate interest in reading.

2. Carefully select pairs based on reading interests to make the collaboration as effective as possible.

3. Organise regular weekly meetings where mentors and mentees read together, discuss the books they have read and do related activities such as drawing or writing short stories.

4. Encourage mentors and mentees to keep a reading diary where they record the books they have read, their thoughts and feelings.

5. At the end of the school year, organise an event where pairs share their experiences, favourite books and achievements.

The programme can be extended to writing, where older students help younger students to write stories, poems or diaries.

After the Reading Mentors session—where older or more experienced readers support younger or emerging readers—invite both mentors and mentees to pause and reflect on their experience. Begin with a few quiet moments to breathe and think about the exchange: what was read, how it felt, and what stood out.

This peer-led approach not only enhances literacy but also builds meaningful relationships across age groups, encouraging responsibility and empathy in mentors while creating a supportive learning environment for all participants.

Mentoring should be flexible to accommodate the needs and interests of younger learners, while maintaining a focus on fun and learning through reading.