Pupils from Year 7 – 11 have trained as Mental Health Champions:

This report is in their own words:

We are all Bowbrook House Mental Health Champions. 

To gain this accolade, our journey started last summer when we had to apply for the position and were selected by several pastoral staff who thought we had the potential and skills for the job!

We attend weekly meetings where we talk about how to redefine what mental health is so that everyone is more comfortable talking about it and it is displayed in a positive light. We also plan events for whole school. For example, we recently hosted ‘Tea and talk’ in our marquee, encouraging all people to talk openly to one another and others they may not know. We listened to some top tunes, did a quiz, had a nice, friendly chat and relaxed. We raised over £170 which will be donated to a charity helping young people and their mental health.

In October we received our official training by One Goal to be Mental Health Champions. The day was spent off timetable and we engaged in a number of activities which honed our listening, calming and advice skills so that we can help support those who may come to us in the future. Our trainer we found to be very approachable, fun and positive. The day inspired us as to what we can achieve together in our school community.

We are currently working on several projects, the first of which is representing mental health at the upcoming Christmas fayre as we recognise this can be a tricky period of time for many people. In the future we wish to gain the support of the wider community, including parents/carers so that our positive outlook on mental health is more widely spread.

Will, Yr11 “mental health is a priority and not for the minority”

Jess, Yr10 “ Everyone has it……it’s no biggie!”

Ayana, Yr10 “Mental health deserves respect and normalisation”

We are very proud of them all…