Your NNC: June 2026

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Building Bridges
June 2026

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“It really helped us feel more confident. Starting high school can be scary at first, but knowing there’s support makes it way easier.”

Starting high school can feel like stepping into an entirely new world. The campus is bigger, the timetable is more complicated and there are unfamiliar faces everywhere. For many young people, even knowing where to sit at lunch can feel daunting.
“We thought we ruled the playground, and then high school happened and suddenly we were the smallest again,” one student said in a recent Peer Bridge graduation speech. “There are way more students and it takes forever to find your next class.”
That is why NNC created the Peer Bridge Program, to help young people make the transition from primary school to high school with more confidence. By bringing younger students together with older peers, the program creates something simple but powerful: a familiar face in the corridor.
For students beginning high school, Peer Bridge offers practical guidance, group activities and the chance to ask the questions they may not feel comfortable raising elsewhere. For older students, it is an opportunity to build leadership skills, practise empathy and become the person they may once have needed themselves.
“It really helped us feel more confident,” one Year 7 student shared. “Starting high school can be scary at first, but knowing there’s support makes it way easier.”

Our Peer Bridge program was developed and pilot-tested in 2024–25, then expanded across two school streams in 2025–26.

This year, 134 young people took part in the program, including peer mentors and students preparing to transition into high school. Across both streams, NNC delivered workshops, information sessions and activities designed to help young people build relationships, understand what lies ahead and feel more connected to their new school environment.
The program also worked with Headspace and Co.As.It to deliver four workshops across the two school streams. With assistance from Officeworks, 68 students received school packs containing essential learning materials, while 15 refurbished laptops were provided to students beginning high school.
For many families, the move from a smaller, familiar primary school setting into a larger and more independent high school environment can be a major adjustment. Peer Bridge includes a dedicated youth worker who supports both students and parents or carers through that transition.

Leadership that goes both ways

The program is not only designed to support younger students. It also gives older students a meaningful chance to lead.
One Peer Bridge mentor described learning that leadership is not about being in charge. It is about making sure nobody feels left behind. Another spoke about the impact of small moments: saying hello in the corridor, having a quick chat at recess or helping someone feel less alone in a new environment.
“Those small moments make people feel wanted and welcome,” the student said.
By the final workshops, mentors described seeing younger students become more comfortable, more willing to participate and more confident around one another. For the mentors themselves, the experience also strengthens communication skills, confidence and a sense of responsibility. They learn that making someone else feel included can be one of the most important forms of leadership.
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Your support in action

Peer Bridge is entirely funded through philanthropic support. That means donors like you are helping create opportunities that go beyond a standard school orientation: youth work, mentoring, parent support, practical resources, confidence-building activities and a stronger sense of belonging.
The program is also helping inform a broader model for the future. NNC is working with UNSW researchers to explore the program’s impact and develop a model that could potentially be adapted by neighbourhood centres and schools across Australia.
For now, the impact is visible in the young people themselves: students who arrive feeling nervous and leave with new connections, practical confidence and the knowledge that they have support around them.
As one student put it, Peer Bridge helps turn the unknown into something more manageable. “We aren’t just students in the same building anymore,” they said. “We are a support system.”
Thank you for making Peer Bridge possible and supporting young people begin high school with confidence, connection and a community behind them.

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