Student Mentors (Routes for All)
Student Mentors with Routes for All help to inspire, motivate and support senior school pupils to progress to college or university. It gives those involved the opportunity to develop the following Common Good attributes:
- Active and global citizenship
- Confidence
- Responsible leadership
What’s involved?
Routes for All is an innovative and practical programme of activities delivered by staff from GCU alongside trained student mentors.
Student mentors work with S5 and S6 pupils in the 17 Glasgow secondary schools, where fewer young people progress to higher education than the national average. The programme aims to support pupils to progress to college or university. It achieves this by inspiring, motivating and encouraging pupils to transition to higher education, primarily to college to study HNC/D qualifications.
During a series of workshop-based sessions in school, mentors work with young people in small groups to develop skills to help them make successful college applications.
In addition, mentors support young people to participate in college and university campus visits, enabling them to gain experience in higher education and understand the progression routes to university after college.
How will participating in this activity/opportunity allow students to make a positive difference in the communities that we serve?
Routes for All has been developed to inform and guide S5 and S6 pupils as they prepare to leave school to study at college. Our activity programme works with pupils at a key stage of their school education and has been designed to help them make positive, informed decisions about their future.
Many of the pupils we work with are the first in their families to attend college or university. Student mentors act as role models for the young people they work with. It is a very important role that actively supports young people in achieving their goals.
Also, enabling young people to reach their potential will positively impact the communities they live in.
What are the benefits of taking part in this activity/opportunity for participating students?
Routes for All employs undergraduate and postgraduate students to work as mentors in our programme. We offer our mentors the opportunity to:
- Earn money in a flexible part-time job that looks great on their CV
- Work alongside students from other disciplines and backgrounds
- Make a positive difference in the lives of young people from schools across Glasgow
- Develop a wide range of employability-related skills, such as communication and group work skills
- Join GCU Student Leaders Programme.
Success stories
Last year 92% of the young people we worked with went on to a positive destination. Student mentors are responsible for supporting young people to prepare for their next step after school and developing the confidence to move on to the next stage of their life.