Plymouth teens learn grief support through role play

The students took part in a role play session led by actors

Teenage boys in Plymouth have been learning how to support each other in times of grief and loss.

Students at Devonport High School for Boys have been taking part in a role play session, intended to teach them how to be compassionate friends to children experiencing bereavement.

Charity Child Bereavement UK said one in 29 children experience the loss of a parent or sibling each year.

Some of the teenagers said the session helped them understand how to act.

One of the boys, Evan, said: "It's a very useful skill to have in case in the future someone you know does go through death or loss.

"It's very important to be able to know how to handle that situation."

Assistant head teacher Shaun Manley said the training was about empathy

Assistant head teacher Shaun Manley said the school was trying to "create a community where all students recognise their role in supporting other students and making sure they are compassionate".

He said: "Although this sort of training is specific around death and dying and bereavement actually it's about empathy and the more students we have trained in this area, they can support other students across the school."

Dr Alex Cahill, a lecturer in Theatre and Performance at the University of Plymouth's School of Society and Culture, worked with charity St Luke's Hospice to develop the Compassionate Buddies training session.

She said: "The thinking behind it was that role play allows these students to kind of make errors in a safe space so that when they have these conversations out in real life, hopefully they can have rehearsed it a bit and they feel more confident.

One of the students Alex said: "Before I realised how you deal with it properly I would have just said to get over it and it's not that bad but now I've realised you need to talk to them in order for them to feel a bit better about what they're going through."