Wellbeing groups 'help with high school pressures'

Freddie said he invited Prince William to the school because "I knew he was an advocate for mental health himself".

A 12-year-old boy who hit the headlines for promoting his school's mental wellbeing initiative said it was helping children cope with the pressures of change.

Prince William visited St Michael’s Church of England High School in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, last week, after being invited by Freddie some months earlier.

Freddie told BBC Radio WM he wanted the prince to hear about the Matrix Project, where boys aged 11 to 14 met to discuss topics surrounding their mental health.

"The reason I'm passionate about it is because obviously when you move up to high school you've got exam stress and the big jump of moving up to high school too," he said.

The school said the project, also called 'Am I Manly Enough?' consisted of weekly lunchtime meetings, which were a safe space for boys to openly discuss issues.

It added the initiative aimed to tackle the "stigma" about males expressing their emotions and challenged stereotypes of "what it meant to be a man".

Freddie said starting senior school was a time of change for pupils.

"I felt like it would have been a really big time in my life and a big opportunity to start speaking about mental health," he said.

"It's big that we are thinking about these things but obviously it needs to be sorted."

The initiative is among a number the school runs to raise awareness and help young people with their mental wellbeing.

Pupils in its Student Voice group have also written an open letter to health providers, councillors and MPs calling for young people to get better access to mental health support.

Prince William spoke to Freddie (left) and other pupils at the school

Robin is a former pupil involved in Student Voice, which was set up in 2012.

He said it was "open to all students" and about 100 were currently part of the group which met to share views.

"In recent years that has gone down a mental heath and wellbeing perspective so we look at creating campaigns to spread awareness but also improving education within schools," he said.

Where there can be a lack of understanding around mental health, they aimed to take a student-led approach where "young people can speak out to their peers", Robin said.

Kerry Whitehouse, the senior mental health lead at St Michaels, told the programme while "everybody had felt the effects" of the pandemic, it had also "really put the spotlight on mental health".

"I feel we are definitely taking steps in the right direction and more people are talking about it," she said.