“The Village of St. Margaret Mary’s”
The bus from St Enochs drops you off at St Margaret Mary’s tree lined entrance after a 20 minute journey from the City Centre. On my visit before the end of spring/summer term, I approached as pupils milled about during their morning break.
When Pathways Coordinator Irene met me in the lobby and took me through the halls to the MCR room she had loads to say about her young people.Group work with the younger pupils, S1 & S2, was wrapping up for the year. Young people that had started as strangers in August now felt like teams. But while group work was off to a roaring start, this school on the South Side of Glasgow – new to the MCR programme in 2017 – was only beginning to match mentors with a handful of young people.
She was so excited to introduce her young people to me and was passionate about their lives and stories.
“They can be excitable sometimes but they all work really well. We’ve become the YGT Team.”Irene has worked hard in a short timescale to establish the programme, working with the school to scope who would most benefit from mentoring and other parts of the YGT project.
“Over the last few matching sessions we’ve only had a few mentors to choose from. But the Southside community is so vibrant and they can make such a big difference to our young people.” said Irene.
“All the mentors we have so far who have come for the induction have liked the school, they’ve said it has a lovely feeling. They’ve liked the way the kids have opened doors for them. The area is like a village in Glasgow, with a very strong community feeling.”
Famous First Mentor
I spoke with David, St Margaret Mary’s famous first mentor, to get his thoughts. When he first signed up the south side schools were brand new to MCR. Once they had come on board, it was easy for him to chose where to mentor.
‘I don’t live far from here, just down the road. When I heard they were expanding into Castlemilk I thought it was perfect – there’s a bus that passes right by my door and takes me directly to the school. And I knew of all the places, Castlemilk really needs MCR. I grew up in a working class background but was fortunate in my career and life. I wanted to give back to an area that really needs it.’
A Mentor for Me
When the S2 group joined us they were enthusiastic as they described their perfect mentor.
In the MCR room, the young people have blossomed and they were eager for a mentor of their own.
Adam*, who was celebrating his 14th birthday, has a love of fashion and joked about wanting a mentor who looks good in mustard and khaki.
‘But mainly I just want someone to chat with, like my mum,’ he added.
Ian*’s going to be an architect, so he’d love to chat to a bloke about that.
Jack* wants to be in the police, so he’d love a mentor who has experience in that field. ‘I love to run, chase the bad guys.’
Adele’s* a little shyer, but her dream is to be a nursery school teacher and would like to talk to a female mentor about that. Tech and video game wiz Emmy* would also like a girl mentor.
Sarah* has strong opinions and she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Earlier in the year, when the group worked on project to design a ‘dream bedroom,’ she took the challenge in a new direction and designed a room for a disabled person.
‘I want someone who’s really loud… and funny. Cause I’m really opinionated and brutally honest. I love debates.’ The rest of the group laughed and agreed that Sarah was definitely opinionated.But despite their differences, what they all wanted was someone to listen to them. And while joining MCR in the beginning was partly, as Adam says, ‘to get out of Spanish class’ now they all enjoy it and truly feel part of something.
Earlier this week, Irene had given them tips for preparing for job interviews. I had told them that this was more of an informal chat, but they wanted to show off their interviewing skills.They nudged each other to sit up straight and carefully made sure each person, even the quieter ones in the group, had their say.At the beginning of the school year, this varied group didn’t have a lot in common; a couple were loud and outspoken, others needed more prompting to even get involved. But over the course of the year, they had become a team.
‘They’ve learned to listen to each other. At the start of the year it was a bit more chaotic, but it’s developed into a nice working group.’ Irene said.
Over the year, the six met weekly in this classroom for support, activities and advice. Their Pathways Coordinator, Irene, made the room somewhere they could speak freely about anything they were concerned about.
But now, they’re ready to move onto the next stage and are ready to be matched with their very own mentors.
#SouthSideSignUps
St. Margaret Mary’s, like our other Southside schools, have so many young people like Adam, Adele, Sarah, Jack, Ian, and Emmy ready to be matched and have someone there to listen and help them reach their goals. Mentors come from all background which is so important to meet the needs of the varied young people. Can you join our #SouthSideSignUp campaign and become a mentor for one of these fab young people?
*Names have been changed for privacy
