Across the pond: what we’ve learned about US students and schools

Since landing in New York, we’ve spent a year sitting in classrooms, running school days, and getting to know families across the city.

One of the questions we get asked most often, by parents and schools alike, is simple: how different are American schools and students, really, compared to the ones we’ve spent a decade supporting in the UK? 

The honest answer is: different in some lovely, specific ways, and remarkably similar in the ways that matter most.  

A different age, a different energy

One of the clearest patterns we’ve noticed sits in the age groups we work with most closely. In the UK, the 10- and 11-year-olds we see most often tend to be wonderfully open, eager to please, and right at that age where they’re ready to be shaped and encouraged. 

In the US, the students we spend the most time with are a little older, typically 12 to 14. They’re living with a bit more independence day to day, juggling more of their own schedules and belongings, and they’re at a fascinating in-between stage. Not shy in the way younger children can be, but still finding their footing when it comes to speaking confidently, especially with adults. It’s a brilliant age to work with, because a small amount of guidance goes a long way.  

The sweet spot: middle school to high school

For this reason, we’ve seen a particularly warm response from K-8 schools and middle schoolers preparing for the leap to high schools. Families are motivated, students are at a wonderfully formative age, and the anxieties around that transition are ones we know how to help with. It’s a natural extension of the character, communication, and confidence work we’ve always done, just adapted for a new stage of the journey.  

A different rhythm to the school week 

Two other differences have stood out to us in the classroom itself. First, American school schedules generally leave less room for long-form writing than what we’re used to seeing in the UK. This is why our mentoring sessions have felt so valuable here. They give students a rare, unhurried space to slow down, reflect, and put their thoughts into words. We’ve seen that time and space pay off well beyond the session itself, with students speaking more confidently and authentically in interviews and everyday conversations, which makes the progress feel especially rewarding to watch.  

Second, American students are tested more frequently than we’re used to seeing in the UK. Between quizzes, assessments, and standardised tests, school life here has a steady drumbeat of evaluation. Against that backdrop, our mentoring sessions tend to feel like a genuine change of pace. There’s no grade at the end of it. Just a chance to think out loud, ask questions, and be curious with someone in their corner.  

What hasn’t changed at all 

For all the differences in age, pace, and culture, the heart of what makes mentoring work is exactly the same on both sides of the Atlantic. Students everywhere respond to mentors who are charismatic and genuine, and who show up organised, involved, and invested in getting to know them as individuals. That’s the thread that ties our UK and US teams together, and it’s why the growth we’ve seen this year has felt so natural.  

We’re only one year into our American chapter, but it already feels like exactly the right next step. A new context, a slightly different age group, a whole new set of school gates to knock on, but the same belief that every young person deserves a mentor in their corner.