The Oratory School is delighted to announce its partnership with Brave Mind, a locally based charity whose aim is to raise awareness of mental health in rugby and sport.

The Brave Mind team, lead by its Founder, Simon Trower, and Gilly Thomas, Lead Sports Psychologist, delivered a series of interactive sessions with L6th Form pupils on Tuesday 29 June. Topics covered included dealing with pressure and coping with adversity in all aspects of life. The use of examples from competitive sport allowed Oratory pupils to really engage with the topics in a fun way, and to think about how to apply the skills to academics and work life. The Oratory hopes to grow the link with Brave Mind further next year to help all pupils to develop a greater resilience as they move through the school.

The Oratory was also delighted to welcome back Old Oratorian, Morgan MacRae (OS 2015-20) who is a Brave Mind Brand Ambassador on behalf of Scarlets Academy. Morgan says “It is a pleasure to be back at The Oratory, working with Brave Mind to help tackle the stigma about mental health. Allowing people to understand that they are not alone is so important.” Mikey Hennessy, Head of Rugby at The Oratory says “I’m delighted that the school has partnered with Brave Mind and to see one of our Old Oratorians involved with the programme.”

Matthew Fogg, Deputy Head Pastoral, says “Sport, and particularly rugby, is an integral part of life at The Oratory. Therefore we are excited to be able to work with Brave Mind to develop ways in which we can promote our pupils’ mental health in all aspects of their work and life.”

Simon Trower, Founder of Brave Mind, says “We are really excited to start a partnership with The Oratory. It has never been more important to come together and support each other. This month we will be working with L6th Form students focusing on performance, mental health and wellbeing. We are here to positively help the students to engage, discuss and discover both elements about themselves and those around them.”

Brave Mind provides a national platform to take action and help clubs and schools to improve their approach to supporting mental health in their community. Their goal is to make talking about and supporting each other with mental health the norm. To find out more and to join the movement, please visit www.bravemind.co.uk #togetherwecan