So My School Doesn't Have A Councillor And It Made Me Mad. So I Did Something Very British; I Wrote A Letter 
Here It Is:
Dear Sir
When I asked whether ****** School had a counsellor or not, I was hoping for a yes. However it seems that the school does not feel a need to employ one on a regular basis. I am truly disgusted. How on Earth can you run an institution where way over one thousand teenagers arrive every week day and expect them all too live perfect happy lives?
1 in 4 people have mental health problems including depression, anorexia and bulimia. 1 in 10 people are gay but feel isolated in a homophobic society. About 50% of students will have watched their parents go through a divorce which can have devastating effects on the whole families. I can tell you know that there are students in ******* School who self harm, who have considered suicide, who cry themselves to sleep, who get abused by their parents, who have run away and maybe even someone who got pregnant but so scared they had to abort their baby themselves because they didn’t know who to talk to.
I don’t understand how you can expect everyone to be so happy. Do I have to remind you that the third leading cause of death to teenagers in the UK is suicide? I would hope that you haven’t forgotten about Jamie *****, a student at ****** School who took his own life because he was being bullied at this school! Maybe, just maybe he might still be with us today if there was a better support system, where people can just go and talk in confidence.
More than 20% of teenagers suffer from depression (teendepression.org) but less than 33% get help. Depression is not just being upset; it is an illness that eats away at you. It makes you feel useless and takes over your whole body. You feel worthless, you have trouble sleeping and you lose your appetite which can lead to other illnesses such as anorexia. Teen depression is a huge problem; and what’s worse is the fact that it is easy to prevent.
Depression can lead to suicide and suicide is not a joke. It's not something that you only see on TV or hear about on the news. Suicide is real. A lot of people in the world are faced with suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives. Sometimes the feelings go away. But sometimes they don't. Sometimes they can take over a life, and then end it. Most of the time, people don't even realize when others are having suicidal thoughts. However if someone tells you they're suicidal, you shouldn’t brush it off. Maybe they are joking, maybe they aren't. Do you want to wait till their funeral to find out? People need to be listened to. Accept others for who they are. We can’t afford to take people for granted. You never know what they're going through. You never know how close they could be to writing their own letter of goodbye.
I am fed up of suicide being a taboo subject. I am fed up of people who think self harmers are just attention seekers. I am fed up of homosexuality being seen as wrong. I am fed up of people thinking that those who suffer from depression bring it on themselves.
I wish I could walk through the halls of the buildings at ***** School and see posters on every wall saying ‘Feeling Suicidal? You’re Not Alone, See The School Counsellor’. I want there to be a friendly counsellor who comes from outside of the school and is available to talk to anyone throughout the whole day, maybe just one day a week.
Please strongly consider what I am trying to say. I think a better student support system needs to be put in place. Even if only one student uses the counsellor it might be worth it, because you may just have saved their life.
Yours Sincerely,
James *******
Here It Is:Dear Sir
When I asked whether ****** School had a counsellor or not, I was hoping for a yes. However it seems that the school does not feel a need to employ one on a regular basis. I am truly disgusted. How on Earth can you run an institution where way over one thousand teenagers arrive every week day and expect them all too live perfect happy lives?
1 in 4 people have mental health problems including depression, anorexia and bulimia. 1 in 10 people are gay but feel isolated in a homophobic society. About 50% of students will have watched their parents go through a divorce which can have devastating effects on the whole families. I can tell you know that there are students in ******* School who self harm, who have considered suicide, who cry themselves to sleep, who get abused by their parents, who have run away and maybe even someone who got pregnant but so scared they had to abort their baby themselves because they didn’t know who to talk to.
I don’t understand how you can expect everyone to be so happy. Do I have to remind you that the third leading cause of death to teenagers in the UK is suicide? I would hope that you haven’t forgotten about Jamie *****, a student at ****** School who took his own life because he was being bullied at this school! Maybe, just maybe he might still be with us today if there was a better support system, where people can just go and talk in confidence.
More than 20% of teenagers suffer from depression (teendepression.org) but less than 33% get help. Depression is not just being upset; it is an illness that eats away at you. It makes you feel useless and takes over your whole body. You feel worthless, you have trouble sleeping and you lose your appetite which can lead to other illnesses such as anorexia. Teen depression is a huge problem; and what’s worse is the fact that it is easy to prevent.
Depression can lead to suicide and suicide is not a joke. It's not something that you only see on TV or hear about on the news. Suicide is real. A lot of people in the world are faced with suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives. Sometimes the feelings go away. But sometimes they don't. Sometimes they can take over a life, and then end it. Most of the time, people don't even realize when others are having suicidal thoughts. However if someone tells you they're suicidal, you shouldn’t brush it off. Maybe they are joking, maybe they aren't. Do you want to wait till their funeral to find out? People need to be listened to. Accept others for who they are. We can’t afford to take people for granted. You never know what they're going through. You never know how close they could be to writing their own letter of goodbye.
I am fed up of suicide being a taboo subject. I am fed up of people who think self harmers are just attention seekers. I am fed up of homosexuality being seen as wrong. I am fed up of people thinking that those who suffer from depression bring it on themselves.
I wish I could walk through the halls of the buildings at ***** School and see posters on every wall saying ‘Feeling Suicidal? You’re Not Alone, See The School Counsellor’. I want there to be a friendly counsellor who comes from outside of the school and is available to talk to anyone throughout the whole day, maybe just one day a week.
Please strongly consider what I am trying to say. I think a better student support system needs to be put in place. Even if only one student uses the counsellor it might be worth it, because you may just have saved their life.
Yours Sincerely,
James *******
