Students at University are particularly vulnerable to mental health struggles as they're often living away from home and dealing with the stresses of adult life for the first time. Mental health and wellbeing impacts on a student’s ability to engage with the world around them. A recent report by The Insight Network and student organisation Dig-In, found that one in five students has a current mental health diagnosis. The survey also found that:

• Almost half of the 21,000 students surveyed have experienced a serious psychological issue for which they needed professional help
• Students in the second and third year of university were at significantly higher risk than first years for feelings of worry, loneliness, substance misuse and thoughts of self-harm
• Almost half of students reported thoughts of self-harm
• More than three quarters have concealed their symptoms due to fears of stigma.

In this discussion we will be developing policies that can help students in university with mental health concerns and considering the responsibility that universities have towards students, given the difficulties that many face.

Jake Whittingham is currently studying Politics and International Relations at Oxford Brookes University. He formed the Federation of Conservative Students (now the Union of Conservative Students), an umbrella organisation for all the Conservative university societies. He has been working on a campaign for awareness of mental health called The Abrahart Standard and has secured endorsements from Stephen Fry.