The aim of our Peer Mentoring Programme is to support and retain new undergraduate students by helping them to make a smooth transition into their programme of study and into the wider university community.
Peer Mentors adopt a holistic approach, supporting new students academically, socially and culturally.
Our Peer Mentors are all volunteers and are usually students in stage two or three of the same degree programme.
To continue to develop and enhance the peer mentoring scheme, we are piloting the new role of Senior Peer Mentor.
Recruited from our cohort of experienced Peer Mentors, Senior Peer Mentors utilise their experience to support our new Peer Mentors. In addition to providing guidance, Senior Peer Mentors provide an additional point of contact for new undergraduates when their Peer Mentor or Staff Coordinator is unavailable.
They also organise activities for mentors and mentees, informed by the most common themes and support needs identified through their interactions with students.
Later in the semester, we also hope they will play a key role in recruiting the next cohort of Peer Mentors.
This year, we have successfully recruited and trained eight Senior Peer Mentors who will work across several peer mentoring schemes.
Our Senior Peer Mentors for 2026/27 are:
Chance Murphy (Biomedical Sciences),
Fleur Brown (Food and Human Nutrition/Dietetics),
Sophie Parker (Pharmacy),
Dylan Voogt (Newcastle University Business School),
Emilia Ustrobinska (Law),
Daniel Huddart (Mechanical Engineering),
Hitarth Kakumanu (Chemical Engineering),
Ashaz Ahmed (Computing Science).
“As a Senior Peer Mentor, my role is to make sure every mentor feels confident and able to give their mentees that support, whilst helping the scheme grow and stay consistent overall.
More broadly, I'm a friendly point of contact who understands the course and the opportunities available.
Since being a Peer Mentor last year, I've learnt a lot about what works well and reflected on what I'd do differently — and I'm keen to share that with the rest of the team this year”,
Sophie, Senior Peer Mentor for Pharmacy.
We will be evaluating the impact of having Senior Peer Mentors over the coming months.
If you are a Peer Mentor or a first year undergraduate student in any of the degree programmes above, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Senior Peer Mentor.
Find out more on the Peer Mentoring webpage.