Session 2 – 11th April – 14.30-15.20

Title of Presentation: Mentoriaeth: Cyrraedd yr Anghyrraedd

Mentoring: Reaching the hard to reach

Presenters: Linda Evans a Dafydd Arthur

Organisation: Prifysgol Cymru Bangor/University of Wales Bangor

Summary:

This presentation will be delivered bilingually (Welsh/English) – There will be a simultaneous translation service.

The Wales Assembly Government has recognised that there are too many talented and able people who believe that Higher Education is not for them. The Reaching Higher Reaching Wider programme HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales) aims to increase participation in higher education amongst those school pupils who have the potential to succeed by attempting to change attitudes and by helping people to raise and realise their educational aspirations and potential.

The North Wales Reaching Higher, Reaching Wider team aims to work, in particular with people who live in Communities First areas; with minority ethnic communities, with people who have disabilities and with Welsh language speakers.

Aspirational Mentoring has been particularly successful in North Wales; delivered in partnership with local schools and higher education providers it offers a multi-strand approach to raising awareness and aspirations not only in talented pupils but also amongst their parents who tend to have no experience of higher education themselves.

Strand 1: working with year 7 children in secondary schools, mainly from Communities First areas to directly raise their awareness of the many facets of higher education and of what it can do for them.   Aspirational Mentoring enables the children to work directly with a “real student” and to gain first hand information not only about studying for qualifications but also about accommodation and independence, membership of sporting and social events etc that make up the whole of the higher education experience.

Strand 2: working with volunteer undergraduate students from local higher education institutions and training them, with or without accreditation, to work as Aspirational Mentors with year 7 pupils.   Whilst working with the children, mentors gain useful experience for many employment routes and valuable material for their CVs.

Strand 3: working with parents to raise awareness of their children’s potential to succeed in higher education; to challenge their attitudes to higher education and how it can benefit not only their children’s lives but also the lives of future generations.   Parents are also encouraged to look at their own education and qualifications and to consider how higher education might also be of benefit to themselves.

Strand 4: presentation evenings celebrate the success of all who have participated in the Aspiration Mentoring project and raise further awareness within local communities through photographs and editorial in local newspapers.