We surveyed 330 new families that work with us, asking them about their experience with Oppidan and how effective mentoring has been for their children.

On a recent 1:1 mentoring day at a sixth form college in London, everyone got a bit confused.   

In 2024, we are proud to say that nearly nine in 10 of the students we mentored on the 11+ Journey received an offer from their preferred school, including some of the UK’s leading independent schools.

Inspired by an article in the Jersey Evening Post, Pro Mentor Jack Dolbey wrote to cancer sufferer Simon Boas to discuss three key aspects of character.

Griselda Kerr, author and co-founder Walter’s mother, discusses the art of gardening ahead of the summer months and how to get your your children to fall in love with the great outdoors.

Welcome to Cat’s Corner, a series that guides parents through the murky waters of school applications and the 11+ assessment.

We recently onboarded our Spring 2024 cohort of mentees and spent some time sharing the ingredients of mentoring with them.  

Schools and parents always ask us: how do we actually create our mentoring content? 

In January 2024, a cross-party education select committee report called for an end to the single-word judgments used to rate schools in England. These judgments, which are either one or two words, have long been a point of contention. The committee emphasised that schools should not be automatically graded as “inadequate” for minor safeguarding concerns. However, it also recognised the importance of maintaining strong accountability in schools12. 

Every sixth form college leader we meet has slightly different needs, but they might include the following: Looking to motivate students who might be struggling pastorally or academically. Looking to improve student leadership and future pathways opportunities.   

Personalised, human-led mentoring. We want to improve results and affect outcomes, via character. We want to visit every school in-person, with an inspiring team of mentors who will excite students and bring something different.  

Oppidan Education supports more than 100 UK state-funded MATs, UK independent prep and secondary, and international English-speaking schools. In the UK we've built standout partnerships with MATs like David Ross, Greenwood, Unity, E-ACT, Dixons and Education South West. Whatever the demographic or state-of-play for each setting, we've found students to be similar in their engagement with us and their hunger to build skills that will serve their futures.  

Beyond our work in 100+ UK independent and state-funded schools, we've now journeyed to Spain, South Korea, Ghana and Thailand to support schools in very different contexts. Whatever the demographic or state-of-play for each region, we've found students to be similar in their engagement with us and their hunger to build skills that will serve their futures.

Oppidan Education mentors are young people in their 20s and 30s, driven by social impact but with the flexibility to work freelance in schools around the world.  

Whether in small groups of 1:8 or in personalised 1:1 sessions, Oppidan's mentoring content hooks onto our core outcomes of readiness, oracy and character.

After measuring impact with our school partners for years, we’ve settled on the key outcomes that provide the framework for our programmes in schools.

Pharmaceuticals industry here we come! Well, not quite. Here’s how our April Fool’s campaign came to be.

An ad hoc (or occasional) place happens when a child enters a school outside the traditional year groups for admission.

Much has been made in the news recently about the future for private schools.  

So, what’s happening?  

With exams looming ominously, we asked our team how they mentor students through the process.