Independent Schools Guide: Developing robust attitudes to life
Scotsman education correspondent Catriona Stewart surveys one school’s efforts to build mental and emotional resilience in its pupils
Experts have said Scotland is in the middle of a mental health emergency and the effect is being felt in schools across the country.
One school, however, is providing a template of how to help ensure young people are as emotionally robust as they can be.
At Loretto School, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, mental health wellbeing is a core part of the school ethos.
Head teacher Pete Richardson said: “We definitely saw a rise in mental health difficulties during the pandemic, because young people didn’t have access to their friends in those formative, important years,” he recalls.
The head says he models emotional openness by talking about how the loss of his father affected him. “Life is not a bed of roses, and we need to normalise it,” he adds.
“A key part of building resilience in young people is in having them appreciate that feeling stressed and anxious is natural.”
According to Scottish children’s charity Children First, there are an average 100 referrals a day being made to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Scotland’s children consistently report low levels of happiness, with overall life-satisfaction among 15-year-olds the lowest recorded across 27 European countries.
At Loretto, Scotland’s oldest boarding school with just over 400 pupils, these challenges are addressed through a pastoral system that emphasises relationships and early intervention.
Small tutor groups meet daily, giving staff frequent opportunities to notice when something is not quite right.
A team of three nurses and chaplaincy drop-ins offer further layers of support.
“The size of the school makes a huge difference,” Pete says. “If several people notice a change in a pupil, we build a picture quickly and step in.”
Mental health support at Loretto School is not delivered through a single, stand-alone programme, however. Instead, Pete says, it is woven into the culture.
Pete says: “If you look at what mental health experts recommend, they talk about good sleep, exercise, healthy routines and connection. That’s essentially what this ethos is about.”
For pupils, that means access to team sports that teach resilience in both victory and defeat, opportunities to perform on stage or play in orchestras, and regular communal gatherings that reinforce a sense of belonging. The aim, Pete says, is to ensure pupils feel fulfilled and valued beyond exam results.
Weekly life-skills sessions form another pillar of support. Built into the timetable and delivered in tutor groups, the sessions cover topics ranging from drugs and alcohol issues, to dealing with anxiety and stress, and exam pressure.
Pupils are encouraged to talk openly about how they feel, and to understand that stress shifts rather than disappears as life progresses.
“I do sometimes wonder if we don’t confuse everyday feelings, and in moments in a young person’s life – or even an adult’s life – we’re going to have moments of anxiety,” Pete says. “We are going to have moments of stress. These are natural feelings. I think the key thing that schools have to play a part in doing, is actually saying to young people that life is a bit of a roller coaster.
“You are going to have moments where you’re rising up and everything’s feeling great, and then life does throw some terrible challenges at you, whether that be bereavement later on in life of a parent.
“Learning to cope is part of growing up.”
This approach stands in contrast to a educational system that often measures success through exam attainment alone. While academic outcomes matter, the Loretto headteacher argues they should not be the sole indicator of a school’s effectiveness.
“Ultimately, what the measure of a school for me is how happy your pupils are, “ he says. “Do they feel a sense of belonging? That’s the most important thing. I do believe that if they’re happy, the rest will fall into place.”
Recognising individual progress and diverse destinations, he believes, would better reflect the purpose of education.
Technology presents a further challenge. At Loretto, mobile phones are restricted in younger year groups, and gradually reintroduced as pupils get older – alongside explicit teaching about responsible use.
Social media incidents are addressed through education rather than punishment, with an emphasis on kindness while being conscious of the digital footprint young people are creating.
“Once something is online, you can’t get it back,” Pete says. “Young people need to understand that.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is treated in a similar way. Rather than banning it outright, the school has adopted a policy focused on responsible use, encouraging pupils to see AI as a tool rather than a shortcut.
“It’s not going away,” the head concedes. “So we have a duty to teach pupils how to use it properly – for revision, planning, learning – without losing the human element.”
Debate continues over whether social media should be banned for under-16s, following moves in Australia.
Pete is sceptical, questioning how such bans would be enforced. “I’d rather see education and partnership with parents,” he says.
He points to tools that allow families to set boundaries around screen time and app downloads, alongside simple habits such as phone-free mealtimes and face-to-face conversations.
“There’s something really important about teaching young people how to be offline,” he says. “How to focus, how to listen, how to look someone in the eye.”
Preparing pupils for an uncertain future, he argues, means focusing less on specific job pathways and more on adaptability, emotional intelligence, and values – qualities that technology cannot replicate.
“We don’t know what the world of work will look like in ten years,” he observes. “But we know we’ll need people who are kind, resilient, and able to adapt.”
In a climate where mental health challenges among young people are increasingly visible, that holistic approach may offer lessons beyond the independent sector.
While resources vary widely across Scotland’s schools, the underlying principle – that wellbeing underpins learning – is one that resonates across classrooms of every kind. Pete concludes: “Education isn’t just about exam results. It’s about shaping good people who can contribute to society, whatever path they take.”
This article first appeared in The Scotsman’s Independent Schools Guide, published on Saturday 14 February
This article has been amended to make clear that it is referring to Loretto’s present day ethos and approach to supporting pupil mental wellbeing