School talks about mental health

Students and staff at a secondary school have been gaining a further insight into issues affecting mental health to coincide with last Friday’s World Mental Health Day.

Chris Wright, head of Cowley House at Thomas Cowley High School, Donington, organised the week of events which included assemblies researched and presented by Year 10 students, role playing activities, as well as watching videos featuring high profile celebrities who have suffered from, and got better from, mental illnesses such as depression, panic attacks and anxiety.

Mary Meredith, Thomas Cowley’s assistant headteacher, recently ran in the Lake Vrynwy half marathon in North Wales in order to raise money for Young Minds.

Mental Health care is underfunded nationally, but especially for Young People, so she was pleased to be able to run for such an important cause and in the process raised £495.

Ms Meredith said: “We want to educate our students for life – not just for exams.

“One in three adults will struggle with their mental health at some point in their lives.

“This means we all need to know how to recognise the signs that we might need some help, and we also need to know how to help each other.

“Just talking about mental health issues is a great start because it helps stop the stigma.

“That’s what we’ve tried to do this week – start a conversation which we hope will continue.”