University of Leeds students from Black heritage backgrounds mentor A-level pupils as they navigate applying to higher education.
The University of Leeds acknowledges the significance of cultivating a sense of belonging among our students. In pursuit of a more inclusive and supportive environment, we have collaborated with ‘With Insight’ on their ‘Insight2Uni’ mentoring programme, specifically aimed at students from black heritage backgrounds.
Insight2Uni connects university students with local A-Level pupils from black heritage backgrounds, providing crucial support during the University application process. The University of Leeds launched the programme in 2022, enlisting 20 Leeds students from STEM disciplines to mentor 40 Year 12 pupils in the Yorkshire and Humber area.
Following a successful pilot year, the scheme has continued throughout 2023 and 2024, maintaining a similar number of mentors and mentees but branching out into additional subject areas.
Positive role models
Mentors play a vital role in fostering a sense of belonging among students. By serving as positive role models, mentors provide representation which allows students to see themselves reflected in their environment, helping them to feel valued and included. This representation is crucial for building confidence and a sense of identity.
Additionally, the trust established between mentors and students creates a supportive atmosphere where students feel safe to express themselves and pursue their goals. This trust encourages students to set high aspirations and work diligently to achieve them, knowing they have meaningful support along the way.
Mentoring in action
Student mentors meet their mentees online, once a month, from March until November. They provide insights into student life at Leeds and advice about securing a place at a leading university.
For Trizah Akeyo, currently a student at Leeds completing her Masters in Transport Planning and Engineering, With Insight was a great opportunity for her to feed forward her experience as a mentee: “I've been a mentor or a mentee all my life. I'm from Kenya and back in Kenya, I was mentoring for STEM subjects with UNESCO; I was part of the women in STEM and had my own organisation to help young women in high school pursue STEM subjects.
“So, when I came to the UK and learnt about Insight2Uni, I took to it because this is something I've really been doing over the years, and I've been passionate about. Not just in terms of filling a gap, but as a person who's been mentored by other women – I needed to give back, as maybe if I had not received that guidance and mentorship, I would not be where I am.”
Mentors come from a variety of backgrounds. Another mentor, Nathan Burudi, an undergraduate maths and economics student currently completing an internship within Educational Engagement at Leeds, was in the unique position of helping coordinate the scheme and participating as a student mentor.
Nathan explains the process of being trained as a mentor and matched with a mentee: “The training that we had was maybe an hour, 2 hours... That's where we talked about the different processes we had to go through to sort out a meeting with our mentees, and looked at what to do in certain situations, such as if a mentee expresses that they're having certain issues at home. We were given a mentor handbook and within that there's sessions that have certain themes each month, so we could go through that if we wanted to. However, we were told we could also look at whatever our mentee wanted to look at. For example, one of my mentees is applying to uni in America and wanted to look at her personal statement quite early on, and so that’s what we did.”
The impact
The 'With Insight' mentoring programme has evidently made a substantial impact on its mentees. The programme's initial phase in 2022 saw a significant proportion of mentees - 66% - applying for university entry the following year. The programme's success is further underscored by the 88% increase in mentees' comprehension of the UCAS process, a crucial step in the UK university application system. Additionally, more than half of the participants reported a heightened ability to make informed decisions regarding their field of study.
By the end of 2023, the programme maintained its efficacy with a 77.08% rise in understanding of UCAS application nuances. This led to a notable increase in the mentees' preparedness to apply to top-tier universities, with two-thirds feeling more equipped for the application process.
A holistic approach
Trizah felt she had a positive impact on her mentee: “I would like to think I had an impact because, when we started this programme, we looked at how they were performing academically, and as we moved through, I felt like they had made progress, which was good. And even away from academic study, I was able to encourage them to join sports or societies. Sometimes it's not more about your grades, but the impact you have on society. And that does not have an age limit. You know, sometimes maybe you've not done so well, but in terms of getting scholarships and funding, organisations want to know who you are away from academia, as holistic individuals.”
Nathan agrees and sees the importance of mentoring beyond academic improvement: “I think one of the big things, and something that I don't think we think about as often, is it simply gives [our mentees] a break away from stuff like education and whatnot.
“So, for example, I had a mentee who saw the meetings as a bit of an escape from education and the world of education, because sometimes we started off with a chat and, in a lot of cases, it would simply be about providing reassurance. And I think, for the other mentee that I've got, they value having the experience of someone who's at university. They’ve made changes based on things that I've said, which I hope will have had positive impacts on their application.”
Looking to the future
The positive and supportive relationships created by this collaborative mentoring project have been beneficial for all involved.
We are continuing the partnership to support further cohorts of black heritage students. We also ensure that those who progress to Leeds benefit from our on-course support, including enrolling them on the Plus Programme, our support network for underrepresented students at Leeds.
To find out more about how we are working with ‘With Insight’, please get in touch by emailing studentsuccess@leeds.ac.uk.