“At first, I was not too sure how [well] I was going to do or even if I could do it. But I had amazing support around me and I appreciate it because now I am doing well, and I have learnt a lot of new skills that I can use in my personal life and as a peer mentor.”
Year 10 Participant & Peer Mentor, Brentside High School
Project timeline of events:
Week 1
Introductions to REAPs and the concept of peer mentoring, and hearing first-hand experiences from expert role models.
Week 2
They learned core mentoring principles, identified their existing strengths, and created personal action plans to build their confidence and skills.
Week 3
The group explored local challenges faced by young girls in Ealing, followed by focused activities on key mentoring traits.
Week 4
Confidence-building took centre stage as the girls delivered pitches on why they’d make strong mentors, supported by expert advice and peer encouragement.
Week 5-8
The group continued to develop their mentoring approach through hands-on activities that strengthened their communication, empathy, and leadership skills.
Week 9
They explored practical steps to run a mentoring group, including planning structure, designing merchandise, and promoting their identity as peer mentors.
Week 10
The girls held their first mentoring session with younger pupils, building rapport and co-creating personalised action plans with their mentees.
Peer mentoring project by young girls
As part of generous funding from the Mayor of London’s New Deal for Young People, Routes2Success has been able to expand our work in London secondary schools to run special, expert-led race equality action projects.
In January 2025, our Routes2Success team launched a unique Race Equality Action Project (REAP) with a group of Year 9 and 10 girls at Brentside High School. This was the first REAP of its kind— a peer mentoring pilot designed to prepare students to become mentors themselves.
Over the course of ten weeks, the girls took part in tailored group mentoring sessions focused on developing core skills such as communication, confidence, and leadership. These sessions laid the groundwork for the next phase of the project: a peer mentoring scheme, where the girls would use their new skills to support younger students in their school.
At the school’s request, the programme focused on building self-belief and showing how positive role models and positive choices can have a long-term impact. While some students were initially unsure whether they were suited to becoming mentors, particularly if they had experienced behavioural challenges in the past, these doubts were openly discussed and quickly reframed. It became clear that overcoming challenges was precisely what made these girls well-suited to guide others.
A standout feature of this REAP was the level of agency given to the girls themselves. They decided what areas they wanted to improve, named their peer group, and even designed their own merchandise. This shared ownership helped build a sense of community and accountability, with participants supporting each other and ensuring latecomers were brought up to speed.
Week by week, the group developed their mentoring techniques and grew into their roles. One particularly confident student naturally stepped into a leadership role, helping to motivate her peers and bring others out of their shells.
By the end of the programme, every participant had demonstrated growth in confidence, maturity, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a role model.
This REAP not only met the school’s aims, it exceeded them. The girls left the programme with the tools to lead, mentor, and make a meaningful difference within their school community
We were so lucky to be part of this REAP. The girls have become more confident over the year, and the students were fully engaged, which meant we saw great success with most of our girls. We would love to continue and be part of the project again.”
– Assistant Head Teacher, Brentside High School
This project exemplifies how young people can grow into confident role models, inspire change among their peers, and gain the belief and skills to step into new opportunities they once doubted were possible.
By Liam Campbell, Local Project Engagement Officer
Watch this participant’s testimonial
In this video, Rheanna shares where she started, what she’s learned, and how the project helped her grow — not just for herself, but for others in her school and wider community.