The London CIB (Corporate and Investment Banking) schools programme has recruited an additional 38 members of staff as mentors for the 2009/10 academic year, adding to the 24 existing volunteers already enrolled on the programme. This fantastic uptake, as a result of a recruitment drive in July, means that more than 67 local school children benefit from the 1:1 attention of a BNP Paribas mentor.

The schools programme forms a part of the UK Community and Charity programme and is a fantastic way for staff to make a direct and ongoing contribution to children living in the local Church Street community, which is on the doorstep of the Harewood Avenue office and in one of the 10% most deprived boroughs in the UK. Since 2001 BNP Paribas has been running volunteer schemes to help raise the educational and personal achievement of young people at local primary and secondary schools, but this year we have more volunteers than ever before involved in the scheme.

52 of the volunteers go into 3 local primary schools for half an hour on a weekly basis to help pupils with their reading and maths skills. The mentoring sessions give the children the opportunity to spend valuable time with an adult, unconnected to the classroom or their family, who is able to become both their role model and friend. The pupils’ teachers say that the children get very excited to have a grown-up who comes to their school especially to see them!

7 of the new recruits signed-up to become language mentors, adding to the 3 mentors who have continued from last year. This means that 11 A-level students from St Marylebone School are able to practice for their oral exams with native French, Spanish and German speakers from the bank. After running the programme for the first time in 4 years in 2009/08, the school reported that the 9 students who took part all received an ‘A’ grade on their oral exams! Whilst there is no expectation on the mentors, if the school’s results last year are an indication of the success of the programme, then the members of staff who have volunteered this year will undoubtedly make a huge difference to the students’ academic achievements.