North London Grammar School provides a proactive, personalised, and stigma-free approach to student mental health, fully meeting all ISI standards for emotional wellbeing and pastoral care.
The school’s strong pastoral structure includes a dedicated team of form tutors, Heads of Year, and a Director of Enrichment, who oversees a tailored support system that prioritises student wellbeing. This is complemented by a network of trained student mentors, offering peer support and promoting a culture of openness and care.
The school’s approach is fully aligned with the Independent Schools Inspectorate’s (ISI) expectations for supporting physical and mental health. In its 2025 inspection, ISI praised North London Grammar for its effective leadership, robust pastoral provision, and the way staff and students uphold a culture of mutual respect and emotional safety.
Students are encouraged to speak openly about their concerns, with access to trusted adults and age-appropriate support systems such as worry boxes and student services. Mental health awareness is embedded across the curriculum through PSHE lessons, form time, assemblies, and enrichment activities, helping students build resilience, confidence, and emotional literacy. The school also invites guest speakers to engage students in meaningful discussions around mental health, wellbeing, and self-care.
This comprehensive, inclusive approach ensures that every student feels supported, valued, and equipped to manage their mental health—both in school and beyond.
As found by the APMS (2014), 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem. Source: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey
Anxiety and depression are the most common problems, with around 1 in 10 people affected at any one time.
How do mental health problems affect people?
Anxiety and depression can be severe and long-lasting and have a big impact on people’s ability to get on with life.
Between one and two in every 100 people experience severe mental illness, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, and have periods when they lose touch with reality. People affected may hear voices, see things no one else sees, hold unusual or irrational beliefs, feel unrealistically powerful, or read particular meanings into everyday events.
Although certain symptoms are common in specific mental health problems, no two people behave in exactly the same way when they are unwell.
Moreover, many people who live with such or are developing one try to keep their feelings hidden because they are afraid of other people’s reactions. And many people feel troubled without having a diagnosed, or diagnosable, mental health problem – although that doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling to cope with daily life.
It is not simply the absence of diagnosable mental health problems, although it is likely to help protect against the development of many such problems.
It is characterized by a person’s ability to fulfill a number of key functions and activities, including:
– the ability to learn
– the ability to feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions
– the ability to form and maintain good relationships with others
– the ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.
Talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled.
If your mental or emotional state quickly gets worse, or you’re worried about someone you know – help is available.
You’re not alone; talk to someone you trust. Sharing a problem is often the first step to recovery.
Mental illness and suicidal thoughts can affect anyone, of any age, of any background, at any time. Like with physical illnesses, people don’t choose to have a mental health problem. And, they need the appropriate care to get better.
Such thoughts are common issues for young people.
It can be difficult to know if a child is suffering as they often keep it to themselves. But we’re here to help you spot the signs and know how to support them.
1 in 3 Childline counselling sessions was about mental or emotional health and wellbeing issues in 2016/17
Source: NSPCC (2017) Childline annual review 2016/17: not alone anymore.
In conclusion, the most common reason for Childline counselling sessions in 2016/17 was mental and emotional health
Source: Bentley, H. et al (2017) How safe are our children? The most comprehensive overview of child protection in the UK in 2017.
Address: 110 Colindeep Lane, Hendon, London, NW9 6HB, United Kingdom
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At NLGS, we take pride in knowing each and every one of our students. We put our students at the centre of all we do, and promote a clear set of values, which underpin the NLGS culture. Our values are based on three pillars; ‘Bonitas, Scientia, Disciplina’ which is Latin for ‘Goodness, Knowledge, and Instruction’.
