DOZENS of Herald readers have come forward to volunteer to mentor disadvantaged young people.
So far, 38 people have signed up for information with the MCR Foundation's Pathways project, which pairs pupils with adults who can raise their aspirations and help them find routes into higher education.
The mentoring scheme, which began in St Andrews secondary school, now operates in five schools in the east end of Glasgow and is seeking 200 additional mentors to help boost the further education and job prospects of young people.
The Herald has backed the campaign, headed by businessman and philanthropist Iain MacRitchie, and has a particular focus on lifting the numbers of pupils from a care background who make it to university.
Mr MacRitchie said 56 % of Glasgow's young people live in 20% of the most disadvantaged areas in Scotland, making them less likely to be employed than those in the least deprived areas and three times less likely to go into higher education, with routes into university much less obvious.
He said: "They have no visibility of the pathways and so the aspiration dies."
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