In this blog post by Emma Drury, an educator and Guardian Teacher Network contributing editor, educators in the United Kingdom examine the benefits of vertical teaching and how it can be implemented in other schools. Vertical teaching, in which mixed-age students are taught together, can lead to the advancement of younger students and benefit older students, who act as peer mentors, Drury suggests. Former headteacher Peter Barnard says the adoption of vertical teaching should include proper training, and schools should work to involve parents and avoid copying other schools' programmes.