BP Tutoring & Mentoring Program

Student mentors and tutors work in schools and youth clubs under the guidance of BP middle managers, teachers and pastoral counsellors to help disadvantaged pupils raise their self-esteem and personal confidence, thereby enhancing their academic aspirations.

Since its launch in 1995, this program has helped to matchmake approximately 1,000 volunteer mentors from the nations’ two universities and four polytechnics, with about 2,500 mentees from 85 schools and six community-based clubs.

The program’s success has been measured in joint-evaluations and surveys. One recent survey, conducted by BP’s mentoring partner institution, the Nanyang Technological University, showed that 42% of the 383 pupils under the BP-NTU scheme regarded their mentors as a friend and teacher. More than half said their studies improved under the mentor’s guidance and 43% said they were given useful advice to help solve personal problems.

The BP Tutoring & Mentoring Program also encourages teamwork, initiative and creativity via peer tutoring, fun-learning and recreational activities. Mentors meet mentees in regular two-hour weekly sessions at the pupils’ schools over a six to twelve-month period. They not only pore over textbooks and homework, but often play a game of football or basketball or even take a trip to the zoo.

BP equips mentors by subsidising the running costs and provides training sessions by inviting experts from all over the world to speak on effective tutoring strategies. So far, BP Singapore has spent a total of about S$200,000 on the Tutoring and Mentoring Program. Worldwide, there are about 40 countries with similar schemes based on different models and approaches, in the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, South Africa and Asia.