STUDENTS at Brighton Hill Community School are being urged to think more about their mental health and wellbeing.

The school in Brighton Way has launched an app called BHCS TeenMind that allows young people to gauge their mental health and provides information on where to seek help if they need it.

Designed in collaboration with Gaia Technologies, along with staff and students at the secondary school, the app aims to encourage young people as a whole to take control of their mental wellbeing and help develop their emotional intelligence and resilience.

The decision to have a health and wellbeing app for students was the result of work carried out by headteacher Chris Edwards and head of mental health and wellbeing, Clare Roberts, who worked closely with mental health charity Woking Mind.

Newly appointed head of mental wellbeing, and head of technology faculty, Clare said: “Our students and staff now have a wellbeing app to serve as a prompt to young people to think about how they are feeling, to consider whether they might need some support, and where to find that help.

“It is part of a wider approach the school is taking to support our pupils and our staff in maintaining good mental health, which includes teaching them strategies to cope with stress”

Within the app there is a mood tracker with emojis reflecting: happy, OK, anxious, sad and angry moods.

This feature allows students to track their daily moods and enable reflection on any patterns they see occurring and possible links this may have with what happens on those days that may be triggering that mood. There are four sections:; My Mind; My Relationships; My Body; and My Relaxation.

Brighton Hill Community School has previously been recognised for its commitment to promoting wellbeing for pupils.