|
 |
Each year since 1994, some Year 10 pupils have taken part in the
Hartismere Achievement Scheme with local industry supporting the scheme
by providing mentors for the pupils. |
|
The
pupils work towards a set of goals which are agreed with employers and
which encourage attitudes and qualities which will lead to success in
the workplace. The focus of the scheme is the pairing of pupils with
mentors from local industry. Pupils meet with their mentor regularly
both at school and at the work place; the frequency and duration of the
meetings varies according to individual needs. Typically there are three
meetings per term, each lasting about an hour. At these meetings, the
mentor acts as a professional "friend" discussing any problems relating
to the pupil's work, helping them to draw up individual action plans and
simulating interview situations providing opportunities for work
shadowing. |
|
|
Pupils who have successfully completed the scheme acknowledge that it
has helped their confidence in that they feel more comfortable in
meeting and talking to adults. Many of them felt that the structure of
the scheme helped them to focus on deadlines and to work harder
throughout their final GCSE year. They also benefited from being part of
a select group and from the interest shown in the scheme from people
outside school, e.g. articles in the school newsletter and other
publications, and from participation in a local radio programme. |
|
The mentors, on the other hand, find it an interesting and rewarding
experience - several have commented that they have learned a lot about
themselves in the process, not to mention the insight it has given them
into how education works today, and in how to approach young people. |
|
|
|
In 1994 the scheme was the first of
its kind in East Anglia and it attracted a great deal of interest as a
result. The school is currently looking at the possibility of extending
the idea of mentoring into the Sixth Form but with a more vocational
emphasis. |
|
|
