History students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are using their experience to help some of the city's school children to thrive, whilst gaining valuable employability skills along the way.
Third year DMU History BA (Hons) students are supporting Year 11 pupils through a series of one-to-one sessions giving exam advice, assisting as a paired reading volunteer, and helping those with English as an additional language to improve their reading, grammar and spelling skills.
The students are given the opportunity to take part in New College Leicester's Achievement Mentoring Programme as part of the History in the Workplace module, which is designed to raise awareness of the many careers available to them.
Jordan Reed, a third year Joint Education Studies and History student, is now in his second year of taking part in the programme and said he found it a challenging yet rewarding experience.
The 21-year-old said: "Being part of this programme, as a paired reading volunteer and as a classroom assistant, has helped me to successfully navigate my way onto two local teacher training schemes. Both interviews were heavily dependent on classroom experience.
"The programme has given me exceptional experience and opportunities to advance both my academic and personal skills massively. Above all, I've enjoyed helping young people achieve their dreams."
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The collaboration with New College Leicester is part of #DMULocal, the university's community outreach programme which brings about positive change for the public good. Edel Concannon, Learning and Behaviour Mentor at New College Leicester, has seen the programme's success first-hand.
She said: "Year 11 can be very full on for our pupils with the additional pressure of filling out UCAS forms and writing personal statements. Having the support from DMU students on an individual basis, as well as in the classroom, has had a huge impact on pupils' confidence and decisions for their future. As a result, an impressive 70 per cent of our pupils on the scheme either meet or surpass their target grades."
Dr David Dee, senior lecturer in Modern History at DMU, said the students were having a significant impact in the community, as well as reaping personal rewards.
He said: "DMU History's links to this programme demonstrate our focus on enhancing the skills, confidence and employability of all of our students and contributing to DMU's broader efforts, through the new #DMULocal scheme, to support and drive dynamic change in local schools and colleges."
Posted on Friday 15 January 2016