Chester school says hello yellow for mental health cause

Staff and students at Queen's Park High School took part in ‘Hello Yellow’ for the occasion.

The drive to wear yellow to school was part of the 'Hello Yellow' initiative inspired by YoungMinds; a charity which aims to support the mental health of young people in the UK.

Sarah Williams, special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at the school, said: “We know that over the course of the past 18 months the mental health of all of our young people has been affected to some degree and it is important now, more than ever, that students are supported to take care of themselves and raise awareness around this very important issue.”

To support this campaign, all students and staff were asked to wear something yellow to school, (on top of their normal school uniform) and in true Queen's Park spirit, everyone was eager to jump on board, donning yellow T-shirts, hats, gloves, headbands, socks and even full banana costumes to make the #HelloYellow day as big and as bright as possible!

The school was indeed a sea of yellow sunbeams and helped to demonstrate that together they can show young people they are not alone with their mental health.

In addition, students were asked to bring in £1 with the aim to raise vitals funds for YoungMinds. All monies were collected by the school’s Sixth Form Leadership team and after counting up, the school had donated over £250 for the charity.

Matt Yeoman, assistant headteacher, said: “The pandemic has highlighted, more than ever, the importance of supporting all of our students with the growth and strengthening of their mental health and resilience.

"It was an absolute pleasure to see so many students engaging in the Mental Health Awareness day and sharing, as a community, the importance of taking care of ourselves and supporting others to do the same.

"We would like to thank everyone who took part to help raise awareness of mental health in young people, and also to all who have donated to this very important cause.”