The success of teacher‐pupil mentoring in raising standards of achievement

Abstract

This article describes a pilot mentoring scheme, Raising Pupil Achievement (RPA), that has been developed in a girls’ secondary school. The principal aim of this scheme was to raise the standard of achievement of the students involved. The scheme was based on regular mentorship interviews between pupils and teachers. The interviews had an explicitly academic focus. There are similarities with what has been called “academic tutoring”. In this pilot project, mentorship was provided for pupils in Years 7 and 12. The article includes an evaluation of the pilot project that involves statistical analysis of the value added by mentoring and sampling of the views of all participants. Suggestions for further research are made together with examples of successful practice. Pupils at the school routinely gain good examination results. However, the evaluation has found an increase in motivation to learn for all mentored pupils and a measurable increase in attainment for some ages and ability groups.