A new girls' network seeking city mentors

A scheme to support teenage girls from some of the poorer parts of Brighton and Hove is looking for volunteer mentors.

The Girls' Network, a charity, started working with two schools - Hove Park School and Brighton Aldridge Community Academy - in September.

From the new year, pupils in years 10, 11 and 12 at Cardinal Newman Catholic School will also join the scheme.

But while more than 50 girls across the city will benefit from regular one-to-one guidance, more women from professional backgrounds are needed to share their experiences.

Rachel Carter, the charity's director in Brighton and Hove, said: 'It takes only one evening every three to four weeks for about an hour-and-a-half and a small amount of contact in between.

'The girls are generally from low-income families. They are chosen by the school; the schools identify them as having potential.'

Ms Carter said other schools in the city had expressed an interest and others along the south coast also wanted to sign up.

The charity was set up on International Women's Day last year by two young London teachers, Becca Dean and Charly Young.

Ms Young told The Guardian: 'When I was teaching in an inner-city London school, it was palpable to see how limited many girls were in their expectations of themselves.

'It wasn't that they couldn't name a job they might do. All the girls could answer that question: I want to be an architect, a dentist, a lawyer.

'What they lacked was a genuine belief that they would, or could, get there.

'This was particularly acute among girls in low-income communities who had few role models in their own networks.'

The charity said: 'Mentors are trained to provide mentoring sessions and are then matched with a girl who they will mentor over the period of a year '“ each meeting lasting between 45 and 90 minutes.

'Dates and locations are flexible where possible, with mentees encouraged to visit workplaces.'

For more information, visit www.thegirlsnetwork.org.uk. Email: [email protected]