MES

The MÉS Project (Secondary Education Mentoring) is a socio-educational initiative promoted by the Antigua Caja Manlleu Foundation and coordinated by the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), with the aim of preventing early school leaving among young people in vulnerable educational situations.

Developed as a pilot project between 2021 and 2024, the project has been implemented in five secondary schools in the Osona region and has involved the active participation of education, youth, and social services professionals from the municipalities of Vic, Manlleu, Sant Hipòlit de Voltregà, and Les Masies de Voltregà. The participating schools are: Instituto del Ter (Manlleu), La Salle (Manlleu), FEDAC Padre Coll (Vic), Instituto La Plana (Vic), and Instituto del Voltreganès (Les Masies de Voltregà).

With the rate of early school leaving still high in Catalonia, the MÉS project was created to provide a structured, regional response to this educational challenge. Mentoring has proven to be an effective strategy for improving young people’s motivation, self-esteem, academic self-concept, and future prospects.

Through personalized support from professional mentors—with a comprehensive approach that includes academic, emotional, and social dimensions—the project aims to help students complete secondary school and continue their post-compulsory education.

During the three trial courses, the project initially supported 38 young people in their third and fourth years of secondary school, with the help of four mentors. Of the 26 students who completed the program, 16 graduated and continued their studies (11 in vocational training and 5 in high school), 6 entered training and integration programs, and 2 decided to repeat the year.

The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the project has revealed significant changes in young people’s perceptions of their abilities and educational options, especially among those most at risk of social exclusion. The program has also had positive effects on relationships and emotional ties to school.

The project has continued during the 2024-2025 academic year and has added a new participating center, the Antoni Pous Institute (Manlleu). With a view to scalability and sustainability, the Antigua Caja Manlleu Foundation and UVic-UCC are working to consolidate the model and extend it to new territories, with the aim of creating a proposal that can be replicated on a national scale.

As researcher Verònica Jiménez (GRAD – UVic-UCC) affirms, emotional bonds and personalized support are key to reversing structural inequalities. And as Professor Jordi Collet points out, early school leaving is a challenge that requires immediate action from educational institutions and public policies.