This week, the Prep School has launched a new reading mentor scheme. A group of Year 8 volunteers have started to support Year 3 pupils once a week with reading, and are set to continue through the academic year. 

Their reasons for volunteering ranged from the desire to work with younger pupils and empathy for those who find reading more difficult, as many of the volunteers have experienced difficulties in their own literacy development.

The younger pupils were thrilled with the positive and kind attention, and the Year 8 pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Before their first session, they all had a training session that introduced the principles of “Pause, Prompt, Praise” so they could keep in mind the need to allow the younger reader to work out the difficult words by themselves, supported by various prompts and clues. The training also instilled the need for positive encouragement. 

Studies have shown that such peer mentoring schemes are a win-win situation for both the mentor and tutee, showing gains not only in reading skills for both parties but also in self-esteem.