Surrey Homes | SH101 | June 2023 | Education Supplement inside

Education Supplement
BIG THOUGHTS
Mrs Sophie Bradshaw, Head of The Dulwich School Cranbrook, ponders
how school and class size may affect the mental health of students
A
great deal has changed in
our schools over the last
50-70 years. Blackboards
and chalk have been replaced, first
by whiteboards, then by interactive
whiteboards. Hockey is no longer
played on muddy, bumpy fields,
but on smooth flat Astroturf.
And teachers are expected not
only to know their subject, but
to understand mental health and
safeguarding too. These changes
have been deliberate and aimed at
improving the experience for pupils.
However, there is one change which
appears less positive. Our state and
independent senior schools have
increased in size in a way that most
primary and prep schools have not.
Since 1950, there has been little
upward movement in the size of
primary schools, yet senior schools
have tripled in size. We must ask
ourselves, as educators or as parents
if that is what’s best for our teens.
This huge increase has been driven
by economies of scale, rather than
seeking the optimum environment
for our teenagers. What is the
evidence that our teenagers are
thriving in their enormous schools?
Or that they are better equipped
than their younger siblings to
handle a larger social group than
most adults would ever contend
with? In the last decade, on top of
navigating social situations in year
groups of hundreds, our teenagers
have been grappling with more
complex social relations. They are
learning to navigate social media
and are less sure than ever of where
they ‘fit’. Little wonder then, that
there is a well-documented decline
in the happiness of our teens.
Mental Health Foundation CEO
Mark Rowland said: “Our survey
highlights just how vulnerable
young people are to mental health
problems. It shows how much
pressure young people are feeling
to be a success. The pressure to
conform to an ideal body image is
also intense. Moreover, it is shocking
how many young people have selfharmed
or had suicidal thoughts due
to stress.”
The response from our institutions
and government is to increase the
amount of time we teach teenagers
about stress, anxiety, and mental
health. But is this enough? There
is strong evidence that for some of
mental health issues students are
dealing with, there is an element
of social contagion – for example
there has been a great increase
in the number of teenage girls
presenting to GPs with tics, having
seen influencers explaining their
own tics. I can’t help asking myself
– would a better strategy be to
reduce the negative external factors
in the first place? Can we make these
teenagers’ experiences of school less
stressful, less negative, less complex?
After all, if pupils were unable to
reach classrooms due to buildings
lacking lifts or stairs, would we
adjust the building design, or insist
PSHE includes lessons on how to
scale a wall while also carrying all the
baggage of school supplies?
The Dulwich School Cranbrook (previously Dulwich Prep Cranbrook) is expanding from September 2023, to provide a progressive yet
nurturing co-educational through-school offer from age 2 to 16. The school gives parents an affordable alternative to the Kent Test and
Grammar School route. Students will have the opportunity to study a wide range of GCSEs, supported by exceptional pastoral care and a real
focus on the individual. The first cohort will progress into Year 9 in September 2023; they will move through the school to be the school’s first
Year 11 students, taking GCSE examinations in the summer of 2026. Find out more by emailing admissions@dulwichprepcranbrook.org
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