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The news story "Mentors count personal costs" ( THES , October 17) thankfully, but unknowingly, pre-empted Frank Furedi's provocative twaddle.

Student mentors, who do not have their own mentors, suffer emotional strain and distress. No mature adult, let alone an undergraduate, could, without proper support, survive unscathed after being treated as a "verbal punchbag" by school students.

Richard Hull
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne