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Encouraging and Inspiring through Peer Support
Hundreds of SWAP students progress into higher education each year. And many of those stay in touch with SWAP through peer support activities, helping the next cohort to follow in their footsteps. Some do it to ‘give something back’, some because they remember how useful it was for them.
One of the ways they help is by coming to a Q&A session at a SWAP Study Skills event. At Study Skills, SWAP students learn from academics and university staff about the skills they need for university and there is always a Q+A with SWAP students who have successfully made that transition. One of those who has taken part on several occasions is Yksinoy Montes Gomez (pictured second from the right at the Study Skills for Science Q+A at King’s Buildings in January 2025), who did Access to Life Sciences at Edinburgh College and is now a Biological Sciences student at the University of Edinburgh:
“Taking part in the Q&A sessions has been a highly positive and fulfilling experience. As someone who is always eager to support others, I found these sessions to be an excellent opportunity to share my experiences of higher education, much like I benefited from when I was a SWAP student at Edinburgh College”.
And, as Yksinoy adds, taking part in the Q+A is ‘’ … mutually beneficial … [as] they provide future students with the opportunity to ask as many questions as they need, while also allowing current students like myself to share knowledge and experiences in a meaningful way”.
As well as Study Skills, many students go into college to speak to the students currently enrolled on the same access programme they did themselves; like James Harris, who progressed from Access to Physical Science at Edinburgh College to the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. “As a mature student with responsibilities of part time work, and commitments at home, managing workload has been difficult” he said. But “I was happy to give some course specific advice, relating to the School of Physics and Astronomy about how to use the time before university productively to help with the transition”. And help, it does.
The Class Rep of the Access to Physical Science group James spoke to said “I thought it was a really good way to help people in our class talk about any concerns they might have had from someone who has been in our position and has first-hand experience with the solutions to problems or worries that many people may have had. I genuinely do think it's a good idea to hear from former students who are at uni, because at the start of the course, going to uni seems like some far-off goal. Getting to speak to people who were in my position and are now in the position that I want to be in made it feel a lot more grounded and achievable”. And the course tutor, Ian Records, described how valuable it is for him too: “I like to see how the work that we have done with former students helps them prepare for the work in University. The constructive feed back I get from former students allows me to adapt my teaching and consider alternative subjects that could be delivered in the SWAP Physical sciences program that will improve the survivability of my students in Higher education. Not only this but it continues the relationship I develop with students at college”.
Another Edinburgh College tutor, Theresa Sweeney, was also a SWAP student herself. While she was at West Lothian College on the Access to Teaching programme she was paired with a peer support volunteer, who was her mentor as she made the transition to the University of Edinburgh, where she studied Community Education: “Gill, my SWAP East mentor, was an incredible source of support during my introduction to university life. From the very beginning, she made me feel welcomed and understood, offering practical advice and reassurance whenever I felt overwhelmed. Her guidance helped me navigate everything from points about managing course work to getting to Lectures from A to B, she was always there to answer questions or simply check in to see how I was doing. Having someone like Gill who truly understood the challenges of transitioning from college to university made a huge difference. Mentorship through SWAP East is a fantastic way to help students ease into university life, providing them with the confidence and tools they need to succeed from the start”.
Through peer support, SWAP students are in touch with those who have ‘been there and done it’, encouraging and inspiring them to go on and do it themselves … then come back and tell the next cohort all about it next year!
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