What would you do if you had a disagreement with a pupil or teacher in school?
Some pupils have been trained to serve as the first point of contact for resolving conflicts and issues within their schools by undertaking additional training to become peer mentors.
Abbie, 17, from St Louise's College in Belfast, explained that this role allows students to
"have someone to talk to without having to go to someone like a teacher".
"They can just be themselves with us,"she added.
Abbie is among nearly 90 senior pupils from 11 schools who have completed a peer mentoring qualification provided by the Open College Network (OCN) as part of a scheme organised by the Education Authority (EA).
The EA reported that schools employing peer mentors and other restorative methods observed a 15% reduction in pupil suspensions during the 2025/26 academic year compared to previous years.
What is a restorative peer mentor in schools?
A peer mentor is a pupil trained to intervene and provide support when conflicts arise between pupils or between pupils and teachers.
They can also assist pupils facing personal or domestic challenges, although more serious issues continue to be handled by adult staff.
Abbie noted that pupils might find it easier to
"relate more"to fellow students.
"They might have trouble with their classes or they might have trouble with their friend group, or situations that they might not be comfortable talking to a teacher with,"she said.
She described the experience of approaching a teacher as
"so much pressure trying to go to a teacher and explain things".
"We learned how people can go through different things, they think so different and you just have to try and have empathy, try and see yourself in that situation,"Abbie added.
"There's a lot of things that go into trying to train yourself to be empathetic and put yourself in situations that you haven't been through."
Milla, 17, also a peer mentor at St Louise's College, described how peer mentors
"talk to younger students if they need help".
"They will help them figure out maybe conflict between other students that they have or help in school, maybe give them some support with their classes if they can,"Milla said.
"I feel like teachers, they were brought up in a different time - no offence,"she added.
"It's easier to go to someone you can relate to more and has maybe the same experiences as you or will understand what you're going through."
Odhran, a peer mentor at St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School in Belfast, explained that being a peer mentor involves
"helping people around the school, especially younger pupils that are still finding their feet".
"If there's an argument or a fight or anything like that we can take them in, and look at it in more of a restorative sense and help pupils to get to know each other and where each other is coming from and finding middle ground,"he said.
"So instead of people making mortal enemies throughout school, or a nemesis, they get to know them and understand their point of view, and where they're coming from."
Given the responsibility, why did pupils want to be peer mentors?
Odhran stated that it was
"good just to do a positive thing and help people out".
He also agreed that pupils often
"relate more"to other pupils.
"Sometimes if you go to a teacher it can be a bit daunting, but if it's another pupil you can kind of connect with them quicker,"he said.
Nathan, also a peer mentor at St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School, described the role as focused on resolving
"internal conflicts", especially among younger pupils.
"Like they've just got into an argument or they've got into a fight,"he said.
"It allows for us to come in and touch base with both parties and try and come to a resolution without having anything serious.
"It gets both parties to see how things had escalated from another person's point of view.
"There's different ways to tackle different challenges."
Lewis, 16, from St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School, said he wanted to become a mentor because he felt he was
"good at bringing people together".
"It was not easy and it did take a bit of training,"he said.
He explained that he approaches pupils
"not as someone who's better"but as someone
"on the same level as them".
"When students talk to a teacher, they often think the teacher's looking down on them - maybe in the body language or how they talk.
"We can talk to them as an equal, as a fellow student."
What impact can peer mentors have?
The Education Authority reported that schools implementing peer mentors alongside other restorative approaches have experienced a reduction in pupil suspensions.
Across schools using this approach, there were 1,002 fewer suspensions from August 2025 to March 2026 compared to the previous academic year, representing a decrease of approximately 15%.
