Exam season may be over, and the welcome sight of the holidays imminent, but for some the summer may be tainted by the strains and stresses of the previous months of exam survival.
For young people, exams can be by far the most demanding period of the entire year. That stress can often seem inescapable and be hugely detrimental not only to academic attainment but also to all-round physical and mental health, and wellbeing.
At the Youth Sport Trust, we believe the role of physical education (PE), school sport and physical activity is critical at this juncture to help young people cope with stress. Extensive research both from our own charity and partners has proven beyond all doubt that physical activity can be one of the most important outlets in decreasing exam stress and anxiety. Not only do young people have to cope with the stress of the exams themselves, they face an enormous amount of peer, parental and school pressure around achieving target grades. It is vital they have outlets like physical activity to counter this.
Northamptonshire is addressing this issue head on. Today we launched a trailblazing scheme which could transform how schools impact on students’ mental wellbeing through PE, school sport and physical activity. The strategy, funded by Northamptonshire’s public health team, is investing in an approach to reduce the alarming number of adolescents that are being referred to specialist services for mental health problems across the county.
The Northamptonshire scheme demonstrates that the role of PE, school sport and physical activity goes far beyond just helping young people cope with exam stress because it actually helps build key skills at a crucial time. These are greatly valued by employers. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is now telling us they are no longer interested in just qualifications, they want young people to enter employment demonstrating creativity, aspiration, resilience, empathy – the so-called “softer skills” that allow young professionals to operate and be a success in the workplace.
Secondary PE has a huge role to play as a subject that naturally lends itself to developing those life skills that are taught not caught and allow schools to produce well-rounded young people with qualities beyond qualifications. My Personal Best is a new approach to how secondary PE is delivered and addresses the huge task we have in this country to make PE and sport more relevant and useful to the young people of today.
It is therefore clear that we must use the PE, school sport and physical activity environment not just as an outlet for stress. We must also use it as environment for increasing young people’s capacity and ability to learn and build life skills beyond qualifications that are critical for their future prospects.
Why are we so passionate about this? Headteachers are telling us that the declining physical and emotional health of young people is currently the biggest barrier to achievement. By investing in getting children and young people more physically active, we will develop creative, aspirational, resilient and empathetic citizens that are ready to perform, fit for work and healthy for life.
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Chris Wright is the head of health and wellbeing at the Youth Sport Trust.
