ReachOut, the mentoring scheme in a class of its own, celebrates grades rise

Hunkering down: a mentor and mentee

A school mentoring programme run by Hackney-based charity ReachOut, has celebrated improved GCSE results among its participants and has pinpointed character development as a fundamental factor in getting
good grades.

ReachOut revealed that 86 per cent of students involved in the programme received at least five GCSEs graded A*-C in 2012/13 compared with the inner city average of 65 per cent. Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt MP has called for ‘character’ to be taught in schools, arguing it is essential to education.

Xavier Bosch, CEO of ReachOut, says character has always been taught at school, but less so recently due to “overconcentration on academic results”.

He said: “They need to rebalance their delivery so that as well as making pupils more numerate and literate, they make them better people all round.”

The ReachOut mentoring programme places equal emphasis on grades as it does on character, teaching mentees the value of fairness, self-control, judgement and staying power – meaning the ability to see tasks through to the end.

These values taught by ReachOut, along with academic competencies, ensure students pass exams and are successful in the future.

The mentors provide students with one-to-one support they would not receive elsewhere, helping them grow socially, emotionally and intellectually.

Mr Bosch said: “Some say  schools should focus on educational achievement and leave character to families and other influences.

“In reality the two cannot be so easily separated.”

Sufiyaan Osman, 20, student at Queen Mary University, was recruited by ReachOut at his fresher’s fair and is now project leader of a programme at Shacklewell Primary School.

He describes how mentors act as role models to students who “perhaps need some direction with their behaviour and that by having a mentor, the kids deal with any issues a lot quicker.”

The charity was founded in 1994 to provide educational opportunities for young people not able to reach their full potential because of a lack of support at home or in the community.

It is now operating in London and Manchester, funded by donations from Children in Need and other charities.

The results released by ReachOut demonstrate that being part of the programme and being educated in both academic and character values has a positive impact on student outcomes.

They indicate that the one-to-one mentoring provided by the charity has a direct effect on the pupils’ performance in school.