Friday 31st Jan 2020

Pupil-led Mental Health Conference

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Christ’s Hospital’s 19 Monitors (prefects) are holding the School’s first ever pupil-led Conference on the topic of Mental Health and Wellbeing, on Thursday 13th February 2020.

Read more about it, in their own words, here:

‘We are planning this event of our own accord with minimal help from staff. We view this conference as a means through which we might take action; our own small way of making a difference in the world. To put it in simple terms, we want to seek out solutions as opposed to merely highlighting problems. We are aware that similar, like-minded conferences already exist for teachers and adults but noticed that there were not any which existed for the primary benefit of students and young people. We found this to be deeply concerning, particularly as it is a topical issue all over the United Kingdom currently.

We have invited representatives from schools (both independent and state) all over Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire and parts of Greater London to attend. The list of confirmed attendees already include representatives from 14 schools including Tonbridge, Eton, Ardingly School, Haileybury School, Whitgift School, The Weald, Cranleigh School, The College of Richard Collyer, Dulwich College and Seaford College.

The conference will run from 1:30 to approximately 6:00pm, with registration taking place between 12:30 and 1:00pm and a chance for our guests to watch the school’s famous daily band parade at 1:20pm. There will also be refreshments, prepared by our outstanding catering team, available throughout the day.

Our keynote speaker will be Suzi Godson, The Times newspaper’s sex and relationships columnist, award-winning author, blogger and founder of MeeTwo – an app which provides a safe and secure forum for teenagers wanting to discuss any issue affecting their lives where they can receive anonymous help and advice from both mental health experts as well as other teenagers going through similar experiences.

In addition to a fascinating keynote speech, our attendees will also benefit from three separate workshops run by registered mental health professionals and experts from three different charities covering a range of mental health topics, offering expert advice for dealing with such issues.

The day will conclude with a stimulating, interactive panel discussion/plenary session featuring several student representatives across several schools. There will also be an opportunity for a brief Q & A session with our keynote speaker and the mental health experts whom are running the workshops.

At the moment, our invitation extends to a maximum of two members of staff and three students from each school. To aid us in our planning, we humbly request that you notify us of your attendance via reply e-mail at your earliest convenience.

As the sun sets on our time at CH and we inexorably approach the finish line of our secondary education, the importance of giving back remains resolute at the forefront of our hearts and minds – we would be honoured and grateful to have your support by way of attendance at this conference. There is no doubt that the CH mental health conference will be a truly joyous, spirited and educative occasion!

Yours sincerely,

The Christ’s Hospital School Monitor Team of 2019/20′