Wellness Centre at secondary school

Lakelands Academy in Ellesmere won Government funding to fund health and wellbeing projects.

These include the new, astroturf that has opened in the school grounds and a special centre inside the school.

The Health and Wellness Centre was given its official opening this week.

Andy Parkhurst, who leads the pastoral team at Lakelands, said the grant had been to look at the holistic well being of the pupils.

"The astroturf is helping us to look after the physical health of our students while the Health and Wellness Centre is the pastoral hub of the school," he said.

It provides a centre for the school nurse who visits regularly while also being the base for the school councillors.

Morning breakfast club is held in the centre, ensuring children can have a health start to the day.

But one of the main functions is as a place where students know they can access help and advice for anything that is troubling them.

"If young people need support during the school day they know they can seek help at the centre or they may be referred there," Mr Parkhurst said.

"They may need time out or they may be stressed and need to talk to someone.

"There are a lot of issues that young people have to deal with both in and out of school.

He said that the centre had been open since the end of last year and it was still developing.

"We recently held lunchtime Mindfulness sessions for selected year 11 students who were struggling with anxiety leading up to their exams."

Pupils had an input into the design of the centre and chose to name the rooms after Ellesmere soldiers that fought in World War One.

"At the side of the name is a poppy and background about each soldier," Mr Parkhurst said.