IntoUniversity

As Volunteers’ Week comes to a close, we're celebrating the incredible mentors who support young people across our network. 💙

From sharing their experiences and advice to helping students build confidence and explore their future options, our mentors make a lasting difference. These photos are from mentoring celebrations across our centres, recognising the impact they've had on young people's journeys.

A huge thank you to every mentor who has given their time this year!

On the 9th anniversary of the Grenfell tower fire, we are remembering all 72 members of our North Kensington community who lost their lives and are thinking of all of the bereaved and survivors.

Forever in our hearts 💚

The ClementJames Centre

📢 New Roles Round-Up

We’re recruiting passionate people to join our team and support young people to achieve their potential 👇

🔴 Centre Leader, Kennington (London)
Permanent, full-time
Apply by 9am, Mon 8th June 2026

🔴Interim Centre Leader, Coventry
Full-time, fixed term until July 2027
Apply by 9am, Friday 12th June 2026

🔴 Centre Leader, Kirkby
Full-time, permanent
Apply by 9am, Monday 15th June 2026

🔴 Temporary Education Worker, Edinburgh
Part-time, fixed-term until 28th August 2026
Apply by 9am, Thursday 18th June 2026

🔴 Education Worker Graduate Scheme, Grimsby, Hull
Permanent, full-time
Apply by 9am, Wed 25th June 2026

Find out more and apply via our website here: https://intouniversity.org/work-or-volunteer-with-us/join-our-team/current-opportunities/

Please like, share or tag someone who might be interested.

"I volunteer because I enjoy it. I enjoy helping out the staff and talking to the younger students. I just enjoy being here and like that I can use my own experience as an IntoUniversity student to help younger students now.

I attended IntoUniversity Walworth as a student since I was in Year 3 and I feel at ease there. I also thought I would be able to be helpful to younger students because I attended Academic Support for the whole of Primary and so I understand it really well and feel confident in being able to share my knowledge with current students.

What I most enjoy is helping out and interacting with the younger students. Sometimes when a new student comes for the first time they might be a bit quiet or shy, but over time you see them become more confident. It is really nice to see them having fun, taking part and enjoying themselves.

One of my best memories of volunteering is the chemistry experiments we did last term. I really enjoyed helping students to follow all the different steps, and seeing how happy they were when their experiments worked and we got the result we were hoping for. It’s nice seeing someone really enjoy their learning and knowing you helped to make that happen.

Since volunteering, I’ve gained confidence talking to new people and working with younger people. I think I am also a lot better at communicating things and putting things into words than I was before.

I would recommend volunteering with IntoUniversity to others because it is really fun and a new experience, and you get to help lots of people whilst also having fun and building new skills yourself."

- Anas, Primary Academic Support volunteer and Secondary Academic Support student at IntoUniversity Walworth

***

This Volunteers’ Week, we’re hearing directly from the volunteers who support and inspire young people across our centres. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer and supporting young people to realise their ambitions, find out more here: https://intouniversity.org/support-us/volunteer-with-us/

"I volunteer with IntoUniversity because I feel it’s important for young people to have someone at a later stage in their educational journey to share their experiences, offer support and encourage them to aim high and achieve their aspirations.

Nihal, my mentee, is always enthusiastic, eager to learn new things and determined to accomplish the goals we set together. I enjoy mentoring and it’s also helped me to develop my own confidence in leading sessions and guiding conversations, as well as build on my active listening skills.

One area Nihal and I worked on together was public speaking as she had shared that she didn’t feel very confident in this area. We set a goal to improve this and, over several mentoring sessions, we practised using different activities including mock debates and writing scripts to read aloud. At the IntoUniversity Mentoring Celebration Event in 2025, Nihal and I delivered a speech together to a large group of staff and fellow mentors and mentees.

This was a really proud moment for both of us and it’s been a privilege watching Nihal progress in many areas over the last couple of years. I look forward to continuing to mentor her."

- Tara, University Student Mentor, IntoUniversity Bristol East

***

This Volunteers’ Week, we’re hearing directly from the volunteers who support and inspire young people across our centres. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer and supporting young people to realise their ambitions, find out more here: https://intouniversity.org/support-us/volunteer-with-us/

University of Bristol

"I volunteer because I think that if people are able and have the skills to do something like this, then they should. There’s definitely a social responsibility element to why I do it. I also love getting to know new people - you get to see life from a different perspective and, ultimately, help and support someone.

One particularly positive memory was supporting one of my mentees to progress to university despite the many barriers and hardships she faced. She was a superstar and never seemed fazed by anything.

Tayvia is my fourth mentee, which is great. While it isn’t all about me, it does make me feel proud.

One skill I’ve definitely developed through mentoring is learning how to connect with someone you’ve never met before and, hopefully, help put them at ease in a completely new situation.

I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone considering giving it a go. You can support people through formative times in their lives, while also developing as a person yourself."

- Will, Corporate Mentor, IntoUniversity Leeds East

***

This Volunteers’ Week, we’re hearing directly from the volunteers who support and inspire young people across our centres.

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer and supporting young people to realise their ambitions, find out more here: https://intouniversity.org/support-us/volunteer-with-us/