FARNHAM Sixth-Form College once again opened its doors to welcome the team from London-based charity Happy Space to give a series of lectures on mental health and wellbeing.

One of the speakers on February 11 was Tegan Creedy, a former student of Farnham Sixth-Form College, and pupils from All Hallows Catholic School and More House School in Frensham also attended alongside students from the college itself.

The charity Happy Space was set up to deal with student mental health problems and to help students ask and answer the question: “Why don’t I feel okay?”

Partners Nebula Learning were also in attendance and are dedicated to improving financial literacy among British teenagers by developing students’ financial understanding, confidence and skills by breaking down complex topics into essential definitions and real-world applications.

The group of specialists spoke on the effects of stress on the mental wellbeing of students.

The talks covered some of the novel stress factors that can arise once students have left school, and highlight key signs that students and their friends might not be feeling okay.

Additionally, the Happy Space team presented a simple wellbeing checklist, noting straightforward tools students can employ to help low mood, for example exam nutrition, creative methods of preventing low mood and pointers of how to cope with financial challenges.

It is a subject supported by the government, which is investing heavily in trying to help with student mental wellbeing.

It is reckoned more than 25 per cent of all students suffer from a mental health problem of one type or another.

All schools now have an appointed pastoral teacher to help students with these problems.

Ioan Davies, pastoral lead at Farnham Sixth Form College, said: “In a climate where an increasing number of young people are experiencing mental illness, it is reassuring to know organisations such as Happy Space are available to provide advice and guidance on this very serious topic.

“The presentation was delivered with enthusiasm and the advice provided was insightful and accessible.

“I am very grateful to the team at Happy Space for providing our learners with the opportunity to engage with their excellent philosophies and very much look forward to inviting Tegan and the team back again in the future.”