There have been constant debates on how to improve school leadership in South Africa. This has emanated from numerous research findings locally and internationally that demonstrate that schools will be as effective as the people who are at their helm. The national Zenex/Advanced Certificate in Education research findings have also claimed that mentoring of school leaders has great potential to sustain effective schools. The idea of formal mentoring is fairly new in South African schools but its popularity is growing widely.

This qualitative study focused on the experiences of five mentors who mentored five principals. There was only one historically white school in the study. Two of these principals are principals in historically black schools, one from a rural school and one from a farm school – all these schools are situated in KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. The results demonstrate that whilst the mentors highlighted room for improvement in the current incipient practice of formal mentoring, they displayed optimism for the future of schools whose leaders are mentored. They also maintained that effective mentoring builds confidence and commitment among school leaders.