PUPILS at John Bentley School in Calne are tackling mental health issues head on with a new peer-to-peer initiative designed to get pupils to talk to one another about their problems.

As one of six schools selected to pilot the nationwide Thrive initiative, staff at John Bentley have trained 20 pupils from Year 10 and Year 12, who now provide a first point of contact for pupils who want someone to listen to their problems and offer advice.

The initiative created by Kidscape, which highlights the importance of peer to peer mentoring, was launched at the school at the end of January and counsellor Tina Hoar has been impressed with its success so far.

She said: "We have a counselling service and outside agencies that help but research from Kidscape shows that children prefer to be supported by other children and it is a trend that definitely surprised us.

"In the first week, we had 37 of the Year 7 students refer themselves and that was a massive response, even though research suggested that they would want to speak to peers.

"The plan is fantastic as I think they feel a sense of responsibility and it is real value added. It also feels like quite a preventative initiative."

The peer mentors refer students on to the counsellor if needed, and are offered support so they can tackle others' issues without getting stressed themselves.

Year 12 pupils Charlotte, Jodie and Jesse were elected to be Thrive leaders by the other mentors and also believe the initiative is a step in the right direction for raising awareness of mental health problems and spreading positivity.

"It is such a privilege to be able to do this because I know I am helping someone else," said Charlotte. "I will also be able to transfer those skills into any career and I feel it benefits me as an individual because I am able to empathise more with others."

The mentors, who provide six week sessions before school, also meet once every fortnight to brainstorm ideas and discuss what has worked and what has not worked in certain scenarios.

"The fact you can see someone coming in at the start of the process and being able to help them grow through their problems and hopefully see them walk out happier at the end of the six weeks is a great feeling," Jodie said.

As the John Bentley School scheme has revealed that the majority of self referrals have come from boys, Jesse wants to use the initiative to encourage teenage boys to speak out about their problems.

He said: "It makes you more aware of how many people have problems and how they don't always feel comfortable speaking out. I want to help boys talk about their problems and make them realise that talking about it doesn't make you weak - it makes you stronger."