The mentoring program, which is in its second year, was run by the Raise Foundation in partnership with the NSW Government's Youth Frontiers initiative.

It pairs students in Year 8 and Year 9 with community members that have undertaken mentor training with Raise.

Program counsellor Delanie Sky said mentors have the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of students who have great potential.

“The point of the whole program is that, in class, these students don’t get that one-on-one attention they need,” she said.

“The school identifies students who have untapped potential and we pair them up with mentors.”

The mentors act as a neutral, positive voice for their students, who are encouraged to speak openly about issues that they may be going through.

Students also participate in a community project, which this year was the Bathurst Kangaroo Project, that aims to relocate 150 kangaroos from Mount Panorama.

Ms Sky said the students were tasked with raising awareness about the project and educating their fellow students about relocation.

She said they learnt a lot from the driver of the project, Helen Bergen, who was a guest speaker during the mentoring program.

On another positive note for the program, Ms Sky has received great feedback from the mentors, many indicating they would like return for another year.

Mentor Nils Gustafson has been part of Raise’s program at Bathurst High each year it has run and said it is a very rewarding experience.

“You just want to encourage them to chase their dreams. They’ve got so much potential,” Mr Gustafson said.

His mentee, Year 8 student Rhiannon Alderton, said she would encourage other students to join Raise’s mentoring program if they are offered a place.

“I was a bit closed in – I didn’t want to talk – but I started to realise you didn’t have to talk about certain things [if you didn’t want to],” she said.

Raise intends to run the program at Bathurst High again next year and would like to expand it to the Kelso campus and Orange High School.