Fianna Fáil Local Election Candidate for Bray West Sárán Fogarty calls for an investment in resources for the wellbeing of Leaving Certificate students throughout the community, with the Samaritans receiving over 2000 calls each year on Results Day.
Fogarty stated “The Leaving Certificate is an extremely stressful yet important time in a student’s life and it is clear that the support student’s need goes beyond receiving Grinds. They need support in handling and dealing with an exam that can be one of the most stressful times in anyone’s life. Rundown, stressed and under-pressure students are more likely to suffer from both mental and physical health issues, so a system must be formed to ensure well-being across the board”.
“Bray is already leading the way in this regard with Loreto Secondary School being among the first to offer an after school Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Programme, linked to exam stress. This was provided by the organisation Aware and was first made available to their Leaving Certificate students of 2018. However it is imperative that this service is expanded to other schools in the local area” Fogarty continued.
“As a candidate that is working closely with young people across the community, I know first-hand the immense pressure put on the youth of today with State exams and firmly believe that more solid support foundations must be put in place within the schools for students to avail of when and if they need it”.
“As a community we should be striving to support the mental health of school students so that they are able to make their best attempt possible with their State Exams. Excessive levels of stress, pressure and anxiety should not be reasons that students do not attain their desired potential in their exam results and therefore strong action must be taken to support and nurture all facets of student life” Fogarty Concluded.
