Mentors from the business world can guide and encourage students at a critical time in their education.

Southwark Education Business Alliance runs three mentoring programmes.

• Passport to success
• Secondary mentoring
• Headteacher mentoring

Mentors act as a role model and guide for the pupil, encouraging effort in school work, introducing students to the world of work and helping them to develop self-confidence and positive aspirations.

The arrangement benefits mentors too, enabling them to enhance their communication, listening and problem-solving skills.

Passport to success

Passport to Success focuses on pairing students with mentors from key London industries: financial services, health, travel and tourism and utilities.

Students aged 14-19 are mentored for one year by someone from the business community (including university and medical school staff).

As they complete a series of activities with support from their mentor, students work towards achieving a 'passport' which will help their progression into further education, higher education or employment.

What happens?

Companies providing mentors so far include Bloomberg, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proshare and Kings College London.

Each company agrees to recruit 5-10 mentors. Volunteers agree to spend around two hours a month on mentoring, for one year. Each mentors is supported by the student's school or college, and by Southwark EBA. All mentors are police checked.

Interested?

To find out more about Passport to Success, or if you are interested in becoming a mentor call us on: 020 7525 2828. 

'Students learn from people who are actually working in different fields, which is a million times better than us just telling them about it.'

Secondary school teacher

Secondary mentoring

Secondary mentoring is designed to encourage students during their final years at school.

Business mentors enjoy the satisfaction of helping young people reach their potential. While companies join the mentoring programme to help develop their employees' communication, leadership and team work skills.

Secondary mentoring gives young people a first hand insight into the qualities and attitudes required by employers, coupled with important skills such as communication, teamwork, numeracy, IT and problem solving

What happens?

Each company agrees to recruit 5-10 mentors. Volunteers agree to spend around two hours a month on mentoring, for one year.

Each mentor is supported by the student's school or college, and by Southwark EBA. All mentors are required to take part in a half-day training session that covers all the main aspects of being a mentor.

If, after this, applicants are sure they want to go ahead, they are then police checked through the Criminal Records Bureau which is standard practice when adults will be working with young people.

Interested?

If you are interested in mentoring please contact: Chris Ace, Acting Manager Telephone 020 7525 2829 Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Headteacher mentoring

Over 40 Southwark headteachers now meet regularly with senior executives from the business world to share ideas and learn from each other's experience.

Our headteacher mentoring scheme has so far linked schools to major local companies including Shell International, KPMG, Abbey National, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Sainsbury's.

For headteachers it's a chance to get a fresh, non-educational viewpoint on management issues facing the school. While business leaders benefit from a deeper understanding of education issues.

Interested?

If you are interested in mentoring, please contact: Lulzim Osmani, Mentoring Project Manager, Telephone 020 7525 2895 Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

'Having a mentor gives you time and space to reflect, which is usually impossible in school because of all the day-to-day crisis points and new initiatives flooding in.'

Secondary school headteacher

'It's great to have time to sit and look at the issues facing the school from a completely new perspective.'

Secondary school headteacher