Between April and June 2025, a pilot of the Stronger Youth project was carried out in Poland, aiming to strengthen the mental resilience of young people through peer mentoring. The pilot was conducted by the FRAME Foundation at the II Secondary School in Radomsko and represented a key stage in testing the tools developed within the project, which is funded by the European Union.
The pilot involved six mentor–mentee pairs working under the supervision of teachers. Participants completed a set of five coherent developmental activities, including self-awareness, self-regulation, communication, problem-solving, and time management. The tested tools were implemented in a safe school environment conducive to openness and building trust.
The results of the pilot clearly confirmed the effectiveness of the adopted model in four key areas.
The first was an increase in pupils’ self-awareness and sense of agency, thanks to regular reflection on their own resources and needs. The second concerned better coping with stress and school pressure, including through visualisation and planning exercises. The next was the development of communication and social skills, especially among pupils who were previously withdrawn or lacking in confidence. And finally, the fourth area was a high level of student engagement, resulting from the peer-based nature of the support and the absence of assessment.
The pilot also showed that a key condition for lasting effects is systematic and long-term action – mental resilience is not built overnight, but through a process.
The results of the pilot are significant not only for the school participating in the tests. The Stronger Youth project provides ready-made, tested and flexible tools that can be implemented in other secondary schools without the need for large financial or staffing resources. The project offers all interested parties access to complete activity scenarios and sets of exercises that can be used during form periods, enrichment classes, or in preventive programmes. Thanks to this, it eases pressure on the system and, above all, on teachers and educational staff, by harnessing the potential of young people through a peer mentoring approach. In addition, it strengthens mental health prevention in situations where access to school specialists is limited and improves the school climate by fostering relationships based on trust, empathy, and cooperation.
The project responds to the real needs of young people identified in studies conducted in Polish schools – such as the pressure of assessment, curriculum overload, lack of a sense of being heard, and the strong influence of social media on self-esteem.
The Stronger Youth pilot in Poland confirmed that a school can be a place for genuinely strengthening young people’s mental resilience, provided it is equipped with the right tools and moves beyond a solely reactive model of support. The developed solutions can be scaled and adapted in other institutions, forming an important element of modern, holistic education.
The Stronger Youth project shows that investment in peer relationships, social skills, and prevention is not a cost, but a long-term benefit for the whole school community.
