Principal's News

The importance of social connection and belonging is something that I have written about before and it is something that I write about, again, today. In Australia, 1 in 3 secondary students are experiencing high levels of anxiety, depression or both. Worryingly, 65% of adolescents do not seek help for mental illness and over 50% of students are at risk of a poor learning mindset which sees anxiety and disengagement impact on the learning and life chances of our students. Behind these worrying statistics are real people who are experiencing real struggles and who need the support of a community to meet their needs.

Concerns around youth mental health across Ballarat has led to all schools implementing the Live4Life program. The program’s aim is to ‘support, improve and invest in young people’s mental health’ by reducing the barriers that stop people from seeking help and support. The aim is to affect generational change by equipping young people with a shared language around mental health and the tools to help them see the signs in others and themselves that they may not be ok.

This work is having an impact: out of the 631 students from the 7 participating schools across Ballarat who took part in the survey post-program, 88% of students stated that they had sought support for their mental health by visiting their school wellbeing team, a trusted teacher, spoken with their parents/carer, another trusted adult or a friend about needing support. Also, 73% of students indicated that they are able to identify when someone may have a mental health problem. These are encouraging signs that things are changing but almost half of the students surveyed felt that they could not discuss their mental health in normal conversations.

At Ballarat High School, we can be a compassionate community that cares for our students and provides a safe space for them to admit when they are struggling and seek help and support when they need. We must be vigilant for the signs that young people are struggling and invest in relationships so that they feel they can reach out for support when it is needed.

As a wider community, last Saturday we remembered James Petrie within Peach’s Run. James was an active supporter of Mental Health Awareness organizations such as RUOK, Walking off the War Within, Resilience Project, Kokoda Trek and Beyond Blue. In his memory, the James Petrie fund has been created to support projects which respond to mental health issues in the Ballarat region and support youth engagement. James’ legacy lives on in programs and within our school. It is important that we let our students know that they are not alone, that they matter and that they belong. And that we are all here for them to listen and support them when they struggle because that is a core reason why we exist as a community.

Stephan Fields

Principal