How our ‘Most Valuable Players’ are boosting pupil progress through peer mentoring
Michael Baxter, Principal at City of London Academy, Southwark and Teach First ambassador, tells us how he is rewriting the future for pupils in the classroom and beyond, at the school he leads in south London.
Here, Michael explains how the introduction of peer mentoring is having a beneficial impact on his pupils:
How our MVPs are making a real difference in school
An intervention that works really well to boost educational attainment is our ‘Year 14’ mentors, who we call our MVPs – our Most Valuable Players – an Americanism used in tribute to our nationally renowned basketball academy. Our MVPs are a small group of Year 13s staying on at school for a gap year as pastoral and academic mentors.
Effective mentoring, that remains in the classroom
To us, mentoring doesn’t mean withdrawing pupils from lessons, but rather the MVPs working with our teachers to support with academic catch-up and daily lesson drop-ins to check in on struggling pupils.
These ‘little and often’ interventions really help the pupils stay or get back on track, by giving them support from a peer they look up to.
The power of our basketball academy on and off the court
Many of our MVPs are alumnae of the academy’s basketball programme which, over the past decade, has enabled over 80 student-athletes to gain 100% scholarships to top US universities. The programme is led by three brilliant full-time coaches, each of whom has coached at the national level.
Role models who raise aspirations
The impact of having these student-athletes in our academy is profound, not only for the students themselves, but also for younger pupils who see them as role models. For younger girls involved as mentees in the MVP programme, these relationships can be hugely empowering; knowing you are being mentored by a young woman who, in the next year, is off to play basketball and study at a top US university is a compelling narrative to emulate.
Breaking the cycle: How schools are defying the odds
Want to see how our Teach First ambassadors across the country are supporting disadvantaged pupils to succeed – and what more needs to change?