Clacton Students Speak out on Mental Health

Ten students from Years 7, 10 and the CCASixth at Clacton Coastal Academy have made a short film called “Speak Out” to raise awareness amongst their peers and to break the stigma surrounding mental health a to mark Mental Health Week.

The film is so powerful that it is now being shared with 21 other secondary schools from across the AET family, of which Clacton Coastal Academy is a part. This means that the students’ work will be seen by over 20,000 11 – 19 year olds, helping raise awareness beyond the local community.

Tyson Betts (Y7), Melisa Smith (Y7), Macey Dawson (Y10), Elouise Gee (Y10), Amy Sutton (Y10), Cordelia Kirk (Y10), Freelan Lyons (CCASixth), Tom Betts (CCASixth), Jack Harvey (CCASixth) and Damien Menzies (CCASixth) acted in the film, representing a range of mental health challenges, including: depression, OCD, paranoia, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and anxiety. The students appear with a tape over their mouths, holding up cards which dispel the myths around mental health. They pose a number of true or false statements:

• Only young people suffer from poor mental health (false)

• Feeling down as a teenager is only because of puberty or hormones (false)

• Celebrities don’t suffer from poor mental health (false)

• Panic attacks and anxiety attacks are the same thing (false)

• It’s ok to not be ok (true)

• It’s easy to tell if someone has a mental illness (false)

Macey Dawson Year 10 said:
“I wanted to be part of making this short film as I felt that we needed to encourage everyone to talk and that there is nothing to be ashamed of. As a young person myself, I know that some people feel uncomfortable talking to teachers and adults but by making this video we can show that people of all ages suffer from mental health. I believe that, if this video only encourages just one person to talk to someone, then we have achieved what we all set out to do. We have started a chain of events that will hopefully lead to the de-stigmatisation of mental health.”

Tom Betts, Sixthform said:
“I felt it was very important to take part in this short video and especially the way that we had planned to complete it. As we used written cards, we believed that this would encourage people to read rather than if we were talking all the way through. As CCA is a community we realise that we need to look out for each other and not bring each other down. This video was made to let people know that they can have bad days, and that is completely fine but by just talking about how you are feeling with anyone can help or they can help you find the right support you need.”

David Lees, Headteacher at Clacton Coastal Academy said:
“I am so very proud of the fantastic video that our students have created to raise awareness of mental health in young people. For our students to “find their remarkable”, it is absolutely vital that they ‘Speak Out’ and have someone to share their concerns, questions and successes with. It’s wonderful that the students’ film is being shared across all 21 secondary schools in AET, reaching over 20,000 young people and helping them understand the issues surrounding good mental health.”

Julian Drinkall, Chief Executive of AET said:
“As soon as I saw this film, I knew we had to share it with all of our students - awareness and understanding of mental health is still far too low, and these students have created a hugely powerful piece of work that helps dispel some of the myths and misconceptions and encourages everyone to speak out. Under David Lees’ leadership, Clacton Coastal Academy is going from strength to strength and this is a great example of how the academy is leading the way for others to follow.”