Teenagers are buddying up with their younger school friends as part of a new mentoring scheme.

Aim to Be sees St Mary’s High School and Hendon School, both in Hendon, and the London Academy, in Edgware, support their peers.

The scheme is supported the The Barnet Group and run by the Nutmeg Community.

St Mary’s High School’s deputy director of sixth form, Katie Spencer-Smith said: “We have seen a real improvement in the children who are being mentored after just a few weeks.

“We match the mentors and mentees based on things they have in common – it’s given the pupils here a real boost in the lead up to their exams.”

So far, 160 young people in Barnet have taken part in the scheme so far, 80 mentors have been recruited and 75 have begun training.

The scheme is open to all students in Barnet schools who feel their students could benefit from peer mentoring, or older students who want to help younger ones achieve goals.

Nutmeg Community co-founder Rui Octavio said: “It’s really exciting to be a part of a peer mentoring school programme that supports young people’s development.

“The peer mentoring programme champions pupil’s progress by addressing things like behavioral issues and raising their aspirations.”

If you are involved with any schools you think might benefit from finding out more about the A2B mentoring scheme, email Nutmeg Community, info@nutmegcommunity.org.