Assertive Mentoring: Celebrating GCSE Success in 2010

We have talked a lot in recent newsletters about how we have been embedding the principles of Assertive Mentoring into our work in order to raise attainment. Now it is time to talk about the success story of our first year.

In October 2009 we targeted 104 students from our Year 11 cohort who we believed had the potential to achieve 5A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths. At that point, all of the indicators we had about these students suggested that they might not achieve this vital threshold unless we intervened.

All 104 students were given an Assertive Mentor who was briefed to challenge these students to reach new levels of achievement. Students were targeted through regular meetings with their Mentor where various strategies were put into place to raise attainment.

All students throughout Year 11 were requested to attend extended support sessions after school in order to complete missing coursework. Students have been tasked with ensuring that coursework and portfolio work must meet or exceed their target grades. Anything below the target grade is unacceptable.

This 104 strong target group achieved 75% 5 GCSEs at A*-C in their 2010 exams and 54% including English and Maths. Furthermore, the performance of this group contributed to making Guthlaxton not only the most improved college in Leicestershire but also helped us beat our whole college targets.

What is next for Assertive Mentoring in 2010-2011?
We have already identified targeted and allocated mentors to over 130 of the current Year 11 students. The following actions are taking place:
• Mentors meet regularly with their mentees. These businesslike discussions focus on the predicted grades and the module grades. Students are challenged to make changes to ensure that their Attitude to Learning scores improve and that coursework meets or exceeds their target grade.
• Extended Support begins at the end of September in order to support those students behind with their studies. Students are allocated slots when they need to attend and are reminded each week about their sessions. We expect the students to meet this challenge and attend these sessions.
• Mentors (where possible) will attend the Student Review Day meeting in order to strike any deals with you as parents/carers in order to help their mentee achieve the best results they can.
• Mentored students are automatically allocated places on additional study support sessions in the Spring Term where they can get extra support on how to revise and prepare for their examinations.

So what do we ask of you?
If you are a parent/carer of a student at Guthlaxton then we ask you to support us in our challenge to the students. We believe that each student’s life chances are secured by examination outcomes which reflect their potential. With your support, every student has the capacity to exceed their targets.

Robert Coles
Deputy Principal

Published on Thursday 7th October 2010 at 09:00