News

These have always been pillars of our International Short Courses, but as I write this blog in December 2021, it is clear that, perhaps more than ever, the health, wellbeing and happiness of students is our number one priority. We take our duty of care incredibly seriously indeed and our publicly available and regularly updated policies and procedures reflect this. Whether you are attending our Intensive General English Summer Course, Summer IB Preparation Course or our Easter IB Revision Course, your mental happiness is really important to us.


I am proud to write that since the launch of our Summer School in 2015, our dedicated, caring and experienced residential Welfare Team has continually offered outstanding pastoral care, allowing students to feel safe, supported and secure, enabling them to thrive on our highly regarded courses. The pastoral interests of our students are, and always have been, a high-priorty. This focus ensures that our students’ time at Whitgift is as enriching and enjoyable as possible.

The residential Welfare Manager heads up the Welfare Team, comprising of House Parents who all live with the students in Founder’s House and are always available for students to share any concerns with or answer any questions that they may have. We also have a School Nurse and dedicated school medical service who are on hand to advise with any difficulties students may experience with their health whilst studying at Whitgift, ensuring that any next steps can be taken quickly and with the necessary expertise. When students attend either our Easter IB Revision Course or our Summer School programme, we like to ensure that they follow our top tips in maintaining mental wellbeing:

 

 

Maintain a routine
It is widely agreed that routines are important for maintaining wellbeing. Human beings are creatures of habit, and while we like and need moments of spontaneity and surprise, we feel comfortable when we know what to expect and can plan for it. It is for this reason we have a detailed timetable and daily routine for students to follow when they stay at our summer school or IB revision course.

 

 

 

Exercise regularly
Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercising releases endorphins, chemicals produced by the body to relieve stress and pain! All students on our short courses can expect to make the most of our world class sporting facilities here at Whitgift and therefore contribute to their happiness in general as well as during their course. 

 

 

Getting enough sleep!
Getting enough sleep is vital to maintain good mental wellbeing and perhaps the easiest to get wrong! Spending hours on smartphones instead of sleeping will be having an extremely negative impact on your wellbeing. Sleeping helps us to recover from mental as well as physical exertion. Teenagers should sleep between 8-10 hours a night. It is for this reason that at our summer school, students must hand in their phones to be stored in a secure cupboard overnight. Students' phones are returned to them in the morning. 

 

 

 

 

Have a balanced diet
Having a balanced diet can have a real effect on your mental health. Our bodies and our brain need to be correctly fuelled to function properly. This doesn’t mean you need to cut treats out… It’s all about balance. Students who attend our summer school and IB Revision programme will be able to enjoy healthy meals in our canteen (as well as some Krispy Kreme doughnuts now and then!)

 

 

Spend time with friends
We can’t do it all by ourselves! Spending time with friends can increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost your happiness and reduce your stress, improve your self-confidence and self-worth and generally offer you some much-needed support! Did you know that in 2019 (the most recent summer school), 99% of students (227 out of 229 students) stated they made new friends at Whitgift Summer School!

 

 

 

Student Mental Wellbeing Handbook 
The boarding house itself has a very warm and friendly atmosphere which is created from the moment students arrive and are quickly introduced to their roommates and other residential students. We want our pupils to enjoy their time on the courses they attend, and all our staff are trained to facilitate and encourage interaction between students and promote participation in all lessons, sporting, creative and social activities so that they return home feeling great after lots of unforgettable positive memories and a feeling of pride about how active they have been and what they have achieved.

Student wellbeing is equally crucial at Whitgift year-round and together with this blog we would like to share an interactive Wellbeing Journal which was created by Mr Lewis, Head of PSHEE and Deputy Head of Year at Whitgift School.  Click here to download.We hope that you enjoy working through the activities in this booklet and find the activities beneficial. We are sure that you will!