Ayrshire College joins MCR Pathways programme to bring life-changing mentoring to North Ayrshire’s young people
Ayrshire College and award-winning charity, MCR Pathways, have joined forces to expand a life-changing mentoring programme to North Ayrshire’s young people.
The charity will help young people in North Ayrshire, including those who are care-experienced or otherwise identified by their school as vulnerable, to build aspirations and fulfil their potential.
Ayrshire College joined the programme in March 2023, which sees volunteer mentors meet their young person for an hour each week, in school and during term time. Young people in S1 & S2 meet weekly with a MCR Pathways Coordinator to engage in a planned programme of learning. This leads to young people in S3 meeting weekly with a volunteer mentor to positively influence their future pathways and be a champion for the young person.
MCR Pathways is now looking for more volunteer mentors to get involved and help reach young people across North Ayrshire and Ayrshire College will support their staff and students to mentor as part of their partnering responsibility.
Anne Campbell, Vice Principal – Curriculum at Ayrshire College said: "Ayrshire College is delighted to partner MCR Pathways. As an organisation, we are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, are given the opportunity to thrive.
"We will encourage our staff and students to become mentors so that they can support young people and ensure that they are given the same life opportunities as any young person."
Fay Gingell, CEO of MCR Pathways, said: "It’s absolutely brilliant to be in North Ayrshire and working with Ayrshire College. Our programme was first established in 2007 in Glasgow and has not stopped expanding across Scotland since then.
"This partnership with the schools and Ayrshire College in North Ayrshire will make a huge difference to so many young people, directing vital support to those who need it most."
MCR mentoring is making a statistically significant impact on educational outcomes for Scotland’s young people. Scotcen, the Scottish arm of Britain’s leading independent social research institute NatCen, found that 81.6% of mentored care-experienced young people leave school to a positive destination (full-time employment, further education, or higher education) compared to 59.8% of care-experienced non-mentored school leavers.
Established in 2007, MCR Pathways provides support to over 4,000 young people throughout Scotland each week. Currently MCR have an urgent need for mentors in Ardrossan Academy, Auchenharvie Academy, Garnock Community Campus, Greenwood Academy, Irvine Royal Academy and St Matthews Academy schools.
Further information on the MCR Pathways programme and how to become a volunteer mentor is available at www.mcrpathways.org. Volunteers will be fully trained – they just need to give an hour per week to change a life.
4 May 2023
Share this post
