Schools are constantly looking for effective ways to support students — particularly those who need additional academic help, have lost confidence or would benefit from a different approach to learning.
Peer tutoring and mentoring can complement the work already being done by teachers and support staff, while providing benefits for the student tutors as well as the students receiving support.
A Two-Way Learning Experience
One of the strengths of peer tutoring is that learning happens in both directions.
Students receiving support can benefit from personalised guidance, encouragement and a relatable role model.
Meanwhile, student tutors and mentors reinforce their own knowledge and develop valuable skills by explaining concepts, communicating with others and taking responsibility for supporting another young person.
It is a genuine two-way learning experience — students helping students, with benefits on both sides.
Supporting Students Who Need Additional Help
Peer Genius tutors and mentors can support primary and secondary-age students who would benefit from additional help with their learning.
This could include students who:
- have fallen behind in a particular subject
- lack confidence in their academic ability
- need additional exam preparation
- have missed learning through illness or other circumstances
- need support with particular areas of the curriculum
- would benefit from a positive and relatable role model
For some students, additional support can be particularly valuable when it is delivered by someone who understands the experience of being a young person in education today.
Why Peer Support Can Make a Difference
Peer Genius tutors and mentors are close enough in age to remember what it feels like to be a student themselves.
They have recent experience of studying, revising, sitting exams and navigating the pressures of school and sixth form. They can share their own approaches to learning and revision, while explaining subject content in a way another young person may find relatable.
Our tutors and mentors are also selected for their academic ability and suitability for the role, with teacher recommendations forming part of our recruitment process.
The result is support from a young person who is not only academically capable, but who can also act as a positive role model.
Support Designed Around Your School
Every school has different priorities, which is why Peer Genius tutoring and mentoring can be adapted to suit individual needs.
Sessions can be:
- 30, 45 or 60 minutes
- weekly or more frequently
- short-term or ongoing
- one-to-one or small group
- online or face-to-face, where available
- delivered during term time or school holidays
Tutors and mentors receive training and can work towards the objectives identified by the school.
Written feedback following sessions can help schools monitor engagement and progress, while concerns or issues identified during tutoring can be flagged promptly.
Complementing the Work of Teachers
Peer Genius is not intended to replace teachers or existing school support.
Instead, it can provide an additional layer of targeted support — giving students more individual attention while allowing school staff to remain focused on their wider responsibilities.
For schools with students who need additional intervention, this can provide a flexible way of adding capacity without creating another demand on teaching staff.
Benefits for Student Tutors and Mentors
The benefits don’t stop with the students receiving support.
Peer Genius tutors and mentors, typically aged 16–18, can gain:
- paid work that fits around their own studies
- opportunities to reinforce their subject knowledge
- valuable communication and leadership experience
- greater confidence and responsibility
- experience for their CV or university application
- insight into different students’ experiences of education
For students considering teaching or another people-focused career, the experience can be particularly valuable. However, the transferable skills developed through tutoring and mentoring are relevant to almost any future career.
Creating Opportunities for Young People to Support Young People
Peer tutoring gives schools an opportunity to do more than provide additional academic support.
It creates a culture in which young people can share knowledge, encourage one another and contribute positively to their wider community.
The student receiving support gains an additional source of encouragement and guidance.
The student providing support gains experience, confidence and responsibility.
And the school gains another way to support its students.
Everyone has something to gain.
Interested in Bringing Peer Genius to Your School?
We’d love to talk to schools about how Peer Genius tutoring and mentoring could complement the support you already provide.
