Mentoring

ASCENTS GCSE Science Mentoring

Interested in being a mentor to GCSE students and being paid?

The University of Liverpool are part of national programme to train STEM undergraduates this summer to mentor Year 11 students in science in the next academic year.

The programme will involve:

2 days of training in late May/June 2023 to cover safeguarding and approaches to mentoring.

23 one-hour mentoring sessions (one-hour per week for 23 weeks from October 2023-April 2024). You will work with the same pupil every week, in their school, under the direct supervision of a qualified teacher. Your mentoring role will be to support your allocated pupil on an individual basis providing an opportunity to work with them on the science content they find difficult so as to help prepare them for their GCSE science – biology, chemistry and physics – exams.

A six-hour revision session. Held at the university just before the GCSE exam period in May 2024, you will support the delivery of the revision session to equip pupils for their exams.

Why get involved?

As well as a fantastic opportunity to see what working with pupils in a school is like and enhancing your CV, completion of the programme will also feature on your HEAR statement.

You will also be paid (~£10) for each hour of mentoring and an hour for travel to and from the school. We will also pay for you to undertake your Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) clearance check; this is a requirement for recruitment and for working with pupils in schools. The secondary school will be local to the University and travel time should not normally exceed 40 minutes by car. Reasonable travel expenses will be paid and sharing taxis is expected.

What qualifications do I need?

As a mentor you will need to have a minimum of a C grade at GCSE in English, Maths and Science and a minimum of one A-level in either Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Psychology at grade C or higher (or equivalent IB or BTEC). You will currently be in your 1st or 2nd year of studying for a degree in a science related subject that confers a BSc or MSc degree (including BEng, MPharm, MChem, MPhys and MEng.). As a mentor you will be able to obtain science resources, along with knowledge of the particular science GCSE exam board used in your mentee’s school.

How will it be evaluated?

The project will be evaluated independently on behalf of the EEF and Wellcome Trust by an external organisation – NatCen. You can find out more about the independent evaluation by contacting ascents2023@liverpool.ac.uk.

How do I get involved?

Please register your interest in the programme by emailing ASCENTS2023@liverpool.ac.uk using your University email address and we’ll send you more details.There are a limited number of places available so please contact us soon.

I’m in a local secondary school and we’d love to have science mentors?

Please email the project team at ASCENTS2023@liverpool.ac.uk

Find out more about the previous version of the project: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/ascents-121-support-for-science/