Teaching boys to embrace and understand their emotions is more important than ever, says Heather Tunstall, Senior Teacher at Bolton School Boys’ Division
The current statistics associated with mental health issues in men would probably surprise most people. Did you know, for instance, that the number of 17-to-35-year-old males who commit suicide is higher than the number that die in road accidents, from AIDS and from all violent crimes put together" Or that 11% of eating disorders are with boys"
Out of the 1,200 pupils at Bolton School Boys? Division, theoretically, at least 270 will suffer from depression at some stage in their lives, and over 100 will suffer from a diagnosable mental health problem. About 50 current boys will self-harm, and about 46 will suffer from debilitating stress or anxiety disorders. Equipped for the future
Good schools have always centred on pupil welfare, but in recent times, efforts to support the wellbeing of male students has become more crucial than ever.
This is why, at Bolton School, boys? mental health has become an even stronger focus for our work ? not as a response to any particular issue, nor a modish response to societal angst. Rather, we think of it as a proactive approach to ensuring that our pupils understand themselves in the fullest sense, and are equipped to lead a happy and healthy life during and beyond their time at school.
This is far from an ?add-on? to school life but instead a central part of it, and inv...