The Door was contacted by Andrew’s primary school whilst he was in year 6. He had just been excluded from school for a violent outburst towards another student and they were concerned that his behaviour would worsen as he drew closer to and then moved onto secondary school. Our mentor started to meet weekly with Andrew shortly after his 11th birthday. They would meet for a coke and a chat in a local cafe straight after school for an hour, and over time they built up a friendship. Andrew felt able to share his thoughts and feelings, especially around his relationships with other young people and his family.

As time progressed, Andrew learnt how to deal with his anger, which was mainly routed in the frustration he felt when others acted ‘immaturely’ around him. He was also able to talk through his feelings towards girls – something he couldn’t do with his mum. After several months his school recognised such a difference in him that they asked him to ‘mentor’ a younger pupil who was showing similar traits. Andrew felt very responsible and mature to be able to do this. Andrew and his mentor spent time focusing on
his move to a new school, and they carried on meeting until he was settled in and things were going well.

Andrew has just finished his first year at secondary school. He has had no behavioural or anger issues, and scored highly on his end of year exams. He has also represented the school at cricket. He describes the last year as ‘the best ever’ and is looking forward to starting year 8 in September.