Students from six West Midlands primary schools recently celebrated their graduation from Mosaic’s innovative mentoring programme at a pair of special ceremonies held over two days at Birmingham City University.

The young people from Leigh Junior, Oasis Academy, Hobmoor Primary, Wyndcliffe Primary School, Cherry Orchard Primary School, Chilwell Croft Academy Primary, St. Anne’s Catholic Primary and St. John’s CE Primary School were joined by their mentors, teachers and families and received certificates in recognition of their achievements. They then had a special tour of the university campus.

Keynote speeches at the graduations were given by women’s health campaigner Neelam Heera and solicitor Cleo Diedrick.

Cherika, a mentor at Chilwell Croft, said: “As well as helping the young people boost their confidence, being a mentor helped me with my confidence too. I’ve really enjoyed watching my mentees grow and develop over the course of the nine weeks. I am very proud.”

One of the students commented: “Mosaic was great fun. We learnt about jobs and responsibilities and everyone joined in. The mentors were all kind and confident and they really helped me.’

Mosaic, an initiative of The Prince’s Trust, Mosaic’s Primary School programme seeks to equip young people with the skills and confidence they need to connect education to a work at an early age. Often the programmes focus on girls and their mothers, raising aspirations and broadening expectations of what’s possible in adult life. Volunteer mentors from professional backgrounds act as role models to the pupils and encourage them to aspire to careers in a range of different sectors.

Becky Mitchell, Mosaic’s Regional Manager in the West Midlands said: “As always, it’s an absolute delight to see the young people brimming with confidence and energy having clearly had a great experience on the mentoring programme. Thanks must go to our volunteer mentors who give up their time for free in order to provide the young people with such a boost of encouragement and inspiration.”

Mosaic’s Primary School Mentoring Programme is made possible by the generous support of Human Appeal.