Helping young people to look after their wellbeing during exams and through the transition from school to college was the aim of a thought leadership campaign we developed for the YMCA in Sussex and the Greater Brighton MET College.
Designed to inform young people and their families, while raising awareness of study opportunities at the MET and the YMCA’s mental health support services, the #NoStressSuccess campaign launched at the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week on the day that students across the country started sitting GCSE exams.
With a call to action for teens to keep their stress levels down and their minds open to what success can look like after they leave secondary school, the #NoStressSuccess campaign included:
- An online ‘Study Stress Survival Guide’ for students and parents.
- Video and blog stories featuring 17-19 year-old ‘exam survivors’ from across Sussex, offering personal perspectives on coping with exams and how being ‘successful’ after school isn’t all about what GCSE grades you get.
- Press office outreach to regional and national media.
The Results
- Regional media coverage during Mental Health Awareness Week, including BBC South East TV news reports throughout the day on the campaign’s launch day.
- Coverage and a follow-up blog written by a MET student in the Times Educational Supplement (TES).
- The campaign was promoted by council CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) across Sussex.
- We created a campaign identity, social media toolkit, infographics and videos that continued to be used by the MET to support pre-GCSE Results Day student communications and marketing in following years.
"More young people are experiencing mental health issues as a result of pressure associated with GCSEs."
Chas Walker, CEO of the Sussex and Surrey YMCA DownsLink Group
