Are you a Queen's Student? You can make a difference!
A vital part of Reading Together is its Queen's Student Mentors, through commitment, empathy, and enthusiasm, they build bonds with their mentees to foster a love of reading.
We will be recruiting in September 2023 for the 2023-2024 programme. If you would like to support a child on a one to one basis and are looking for paid experience working with children please email rt@qub.ac.uk.
All recruited mentors will be required to take part in 2 day training programme
What qualities do our Mentors need?
- Must be a current student at Queen's University Belfast
- Must be able to commit to an hour a week over the academic year, plus account for prep time
- Will be expected to attend monthly support meetings
- Attend events run by the programme, e.g. Reading Together Graduation Ceremony
- A commitment to the aims and ethos of Reading Together
- Be willing to undertake training and Access NI
- A genuine desire to work with looked after children
- Committed and reliable
My experience on the programme was amazing... it became one of my favourite parts of the week. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone trying to get involved with working with kids" Danielle Blee (Law Student)
Queen's Student Mentor
I have enjoyed the reading together programme more than anything else I have ever done in 25 years of being a teacher! Every session made me smile. It has been a very precious experience and I will treasure the memories forever." Jo Holland, PHD Student
Queen's Student Mentor
I have had the privilege of working on several Widening Participation Unit programmes during my time at Queen's. As a PhD student, it has been extremely valuable for me to spend time outside of my research doing this important work with young people and it has been incredibly rewarding to see their progress develop over the months and years. In particular, the Reading Together programme has been a highlight for me as I was able to work one-on-one with young people and tailor the support to their needs. It has also been really great fun!" Rachael Stockdale (PHD Student)
Queen's Student Mentor
Seeing the kids' eagerness and willingness to read and to learn is one of the most rewarding takeaways from this Programme." Ashlyne Yong (Law Student)
Queen's Student Mentor
Taking part in the Read Together programme has been such a rewarding experience. I learned as much from the child and he learned from me. I think the real strengths of this programme are the one-to-one aspect which allows you to build a personal, meaningful relationship with the child and the freedom mentors and children are given to determine the topic and focus of the sessions together." Hope Stoner (International Relations Student)
Queen's Student Mentor
Mentoring for the Reading Together programme has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I have really enjoyed spending time with Mary-Kate each week and witnessing her improvement from the start of the programme to the end." Hannah Kelso (Law Student)
Queen's Student Mentor
I think the best part of Numeracy Together was when something that seemed hard and maybe a bit boring turned out to have some really fun activities like origami and it became so much less intimidating" Rachel Newell (History Student)
Queen's Student Mentor
I really loved seeing my mentee grasp the topics as we worked through the sessions, it was a rewarding experience seeing them grow in confidence as they learned" Ruairí McLarnon
Graduate Intern, WPU