We were joined by Dick Moore, a renowned expert in teenage mental health, for three seminars on Wednesday 17 November. He spoke to the whole cohort of Year 10 and 11 pupils on the theme of ‘Coping With Storms’, and also delivered an after-school session for parents.

There was a firm neuroscientific basis to Dick’s talk. He explained about the physiology of the human brain, describing how tensions between the primal ‘reptilian’ brain and the intellectual cortex played out in the limbic system, which governs emotional behaviour.

He presented some startling statistics about the decline in mental health among young people in recent years, and highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation.

He used the analogy of a rapidly filling bucket with a safety valve to talk about strategies for coping with stress, and went on to outline signs of depression.

Finally, he gave ten tips for good mental health:

1. Eat well, sleep well, exercise and get plenty of fresh air
2. Don’t expect to be perfect
3. Don’t believe that only top grades will lead to happiness
4. Be who you are – not what others want you to be
5. Be a good listener…build connections, but don’t expect to be able to solve everyone’s problems
6. Talk, talk, talk…ask for help when you need it
7. Beware technology!
8. Have a laugh EVERY day
9. Buy Charlie Mackesy’s book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
10. Remember…all storms pass…so look on the bright side of life!

Dick Moore has been an English teacher, rugby coach, boarding school housemaster and, for more than 20 years, he was the headmaster of a co-educational day and boarding school.  Dick’s son committed suicide nearly 10 years ago and he has, by his own admission, a ‘passionate interest in adolescent development and emotional wellbeing’.