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Wellington’s 3rd annual Mental Health Festival took place on Saturday 25 June. The event provided pupils, staff and parents with the chance to pause and prioritise wellbeing as they approach the end of a busy summer term.
2022 was a welcome return to normality after the Mental Health Festival took place online last year. This year, talks and activities took place in venues across campus with the main quad transformed into the epicentre of the half-day Festival attended by around 700 people. Live music, including British singer-songwriter Henry Grace and an acoustic guitar set performed by pupils, added to the atmosphere.
The Festival was originally established by Delyth Lynch (Deputy Head, Safeguarding) and is now run by Dave Walker (Deputy Head, Pastoral) alongside the Parent Mental Health Committee led by Andy Coughlin. With parents invited, it’s very much a community event with the chance to find out more about the challenges faced by young people and discover positive ways to improve wellbeing.
Dave was keen to continue the Festival in order to keep mental health firmly at the top of the school’s agenda.
“Wellington’s Mental Health Festival gives pupils the opportunity to spend a morning purely focusing on different ways they can look after themselves and their friends, away from the distraction of school work. It also prompts them to think about ways they could look after other people who are struggling. It’s very valuable for parents to attend in order to encourage open conversations about mental health at home.”Dave Walker
Wellbeing Activities
As well as a packed programme of talks, there was the chance to explore wellbeing initiatives including journaling; jigsaws; Reiki; dog therapy; head massage; Yoga and nature walks. By getting involved, pupils learnt practical tools to manage their mental health that they can take forward into the rest of their lives. Trying out a range of positive habits helped them to discover what makes them feel good, happy and calm.
Rhythmical Gamelan Drumming proved a big hit as did ‘Wellingtots’ where pupils enjoyed playing with some of the young children of staff members (who, in turn, relished the enthusiasm of these energetic babysitters!)
“The Mental Health Festival shows how committed Wellington College is to the wellbeing of its whole community. Staff, parents and pupils threw themselves into the event with such enthusiasm – it was a privilege to go from fascinating talks, to yoga and then see people taking part in countless other activities, sometimes trying them for the first time. Thank you!”Andy Coughlin
Dave Walker plans to make the wellbeing activities an even bigger element of next year’s Festival as they offer enormous value for pupils.
Mental Health Talks
There were some powerful talks at this year’s Festival, including Ed Kirwan (Filmmaker and Founder of Empathy Week) in conversation with Mental Health Advocate, Pete Crocombe, on life after his dad’s suicide and the power sport can play in wellbeing. Harry Biggs Davison and Dick Moore talked about why suicide is not the answer and how we can better equip young people in crisis.
Author and multi award-winning campaigner, Hope Virgo, took us into the mind of someone struggling with an eating disorder and reminded us that not all eating disorders are visible.
Ex-rugby player, Richie Norton, ran a brilliant session on breathwork and movement, showing pupils how to breathe to manage stress, calm a busy headspace, find focus and improve sleep.
“The performance under pressure talk was really useful as it linked mental health issues with real life situations, like taking exams and playing sport, in a way that helped me understand the importance of staying real and staying positive.”Daniel
The sessions were very interactive with plenty of frank and curious questions from Wellington pupils who are leading by example when it comes to openness around mental health.
“Nobody has yet suggested changing the name to Wellbeington College but it may only be a matter of time.”The Good Schools Guide 2021
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