What was the challenge?

Jessie was in Year 11. As exams drew closer and closer, she felt overwhelmed with the amount of work she had to do. Jessie felt so much pressure from her parents and her teachers to do well. To make it worse, she didn’t know what to do when school finished. Her school noticed she was struggling, so they reached out to Brathay for help.

What did Brathay do?

Jessie was referred to the You Matter programme. That’s where she met Katie, a youth worker at Brathay. In 1:1 sessions at school, Jessie and Katie met every week from January up to her exams. The sessions gave Jessie a space to talk. She shared how she was feeling and what was causing her to feel overwhelmed. Together they used the goal setting technique to break down big, daunting problems, into small manageable tasks

What was the impact?

Revision slowly became easier. Jessie learnt how to create a revision timetable with to-do lists for each subject. The sessions with Katie helped to hold her accountable for her work, as well as maintaining her self-care routine whilst studying.

Jessie finished school and completed her GCSEs with flying colours! She has now started college and is studying for her A Levels in History, Politics and English

You Matter gave me an outlet and someone to rant at. I set myself two goals for the programme; to finish school and get a place in college, which I have done

Jessie

*Names have been changed.