A PETITION telling Sir John Deane’s it ‘must do better’ for students’ mental health has attracted hundreds of signatures in just a matter of hours.

Year 13 student Niall Hignett, 18, is calling on the sixth form college to focus more on its students’ wellbeing rather than just their grades.

He wants to see new measures introduced to improve the college’s mental health provision – including regular meetings with students, staff sensitivity training and professional counselling.

The petition was launched on Tuesday, and has so far received more than 600 signatures.

“I think there has been a systemic problem at Sir John Deane’s for a while where the mantra is on grades rather than wellbeing,” Niall told the Guardian.

“That has culminated in a lot of unhappy students over the years but they have not felt able to speak out over fear of repercussion.

“I would not say it is something I have experienced personally but you hear a lot of horror stories about other people’s experiences.”

Niall was inspired to start the petition following a post in the Northwich Life Uncut group on Facebook which slammed Sir John Deane’s for viewing students ‘as a means to improve their reputation’ and ‘not a human being’.

The post received dozens of comments from other Facebook users who said that either they themselves had struggled with a lack of support from the college or other people they know.

The post also showed part of a letter, signed by principal Kerry Kirkwood, which had been sent to a student discussing their ‘low self-esteem’ and ‘deeply distressing’ behaviour in relation to an incident – although the context of this is unclear.

With the pandemic ongoing, Niall insists that now is the right time for Sir John Deane’s to step up and improve its support for students.

He added: “The pastoral support needs to be more effective – particularly if there is another lockdown.

“We are getting groups of students isolating for two weeks at a time – that is damaging to mental health and I think the support is not necessarily there.

“You get a call asking if you have done the work but that is about it.”

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A spokesman for the college said: “The health and wellbeing of all our students is of the utmost importance to everyone at Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College. 

“All students have access to support and guidance from a number of services and resources within the college and receive weekly tutorials from our dedicated pastoral support team. 

“We have worked incredibly hard, during unprecedented times, for the college to remain open throughout the pandemic – providing students with a sense of normality, a safe space, and the chance to fulfil their potential.”