At City University of London we have developed a peer mentoring scheme which enables first year students to be supported by senior students. Colvin and Ashman (2010) state that peer mentoring schemes enable senior students to help less experienced students improve academic performance personal growth and knowledge. Peer mentoring is reported to assist with the transition to university academic achievement (Andrews and Clark 2011) and reduce anxiety (Sprengal 2004). Specific benefits in a nursing context include increased readiness for professional practice improved recruitment and retention as well as professional development of the peer mentors (Smith et al 2015). The aim of this theme paper is to outline the approaches used and the findings from the evaluation of the peer mentoring scheme.
