UK students develop app to tackle teens' mental-health stigma

A team of pupils from Blythe Bridge High School in the Staffordshire Moorlands is developing an app to help young people talk more openly about mental health after winning a competition run by suicide-prevention charity the Oli Leigh Trust. 

The project, Mindful Mondays, aims to provide an anonymous space for students to share concerns and complete wellbeing challenges designed to build positive daily habits. 

Team members say the idea resonates because it was designed by teenagers for teenagers. “A lot of people struggle silently and don’t feel it’s okay to talk,” said 15-year-old Sophie Hodgkinson. 

Fellow student Tilly Hyatt added that young people “know what causes the stress and how to help it,” while Anneliese Costain said the app is intended to “lay a positive foundation” so students can feel happier and focus better at school. 

Science teacher Kristopher Knight, who helped bring the Trust’s programme into the school’s PSHE curriculum, said mental-health issues remain one of the biggest challenges facing schools amid limited provision. 

“We’re not professionals; our priority is teaching, but any support we can offer students — and anything they can do themselves or with parents — is a positive,” he said. 

The Oli Leigh Trust, founded in memory of 16-year-old Oli Leigh, funds initiatives that raise awareness and provide training to reduce youth suicide