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Blenheim High School is proud to announce that it has been awarded the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Gold Award, the highest recognition for schools demonstrating exceptional, sustainable, and system-wide mental health and wellbeing provision. This achievement follows the Surrey school’s previous Bronze and Silver accreditations and highlights Blenheim’s ongoing commitment to nurturing the wellbeing of its students, staff, families and wider educational community.

The Carnegie Mental Health in Schools Award, established by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence at Leeds Beckett University and social enterprise Minds Ahead, recognises schools that champion high-quality, evidence-based mental health practices. Schools are assessed across eight rigorous criteria including leadership, culture, staff support, pupil support, parent engagement, and external partnerships and must demonstrate not only strong internal provision but also a meaningful contribution to the national development of mental health practice in education.

Blenheim’s success in reaching Gold reflects its reputation as a deeply caring and compassionate school, known for an outstanding pastoral team and kind, dedicated staff who place student wellbeing and mental health at the heart of everything they do. The school fosters an environment where young people are supported to become healthy, thoughtful, resilient individuals, developing the emotional and social skills they need to thrive in life as well as the academic ability to achieve excellent outcomes. This holistic approach is visible through regular wellbeing events, early support interventions and strong collaborative work with families and external professionals.

A key factor in achieving the Gold Award is Blenheim’s leadership in national collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Representatives from the school regularly speak at national conferences, deliver training for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) across the Southeast and contribute to sector-wide initiatives aimed at improving mental health provision in schools nationwide. Their work is aimed not only at students, parents, teachers and support staff, but also at senior leadership teams, governors and trustees, helping to influence decision-making at every level of the system.

To support this wider outreach, Blenheim created www.schoolwellbeing-blenheim.com, a comprehensive online resource designed to share the school’s wellbeing expertise with audiences both locally and nationally. The site provides practical guidance, policy models, research summaries, toolkits and wellbeing ideas specifically tailored to parents, teachers, school staff, leadership teams and trustees. It stands as a testament to Blenheim’s belief that strong mental health practice must be a collective effort, shared, understood and supported by everyone involved in a young person’s education.

Reflecting on the Gold Award, the Headteacher, Tony Bodell, commented:

“Mental Health and Wellbeing have never been more important and at Blenheim we have worked tirelessly to create a nurturing, supportive and kind environment in which every student can grow not only academically, but also as a healthy, confident and compassionate person. Our staff embody the caring ethos that defines our school; they go above and beyond every day to ensure students feel valued, safe and understood.

“This journey from Bronze to Silver and now to Gold is a reflection of the remarkable dedication of our whole community with students, parents, teachers, support staff, governors and leaders working together with a shared vision. Our mission has always been to support the wellbeing of everyone who steps through our doors, while also contributing to wider national work that benefits schools across the country.

“The resources we share through our wellbeing website, our training for NQTs, and our contributions to conferences all reflect our commitment to helping others create the same positive, caring environments that we strive for at Blenheim. This accreditation is both a celebration of how far we have come and a motivation to continue championing good mental health and wellbeing for many years to come.”

Blenheim High School’s Carnegie Gold Award marks a significant milestone and stands as a powerful testament to its compassion, leadership and unwavering dedication to ensuring that every member of its community is supported to flourish.

Visit the School Wellbeing by Blenheim website