PROVING it is better to talk about a problem then keep it to yourself, a school has enlisted the help of fellow pupils.

Wensleydale School and Sixth Form at Leyburn has now gone live on a new scheme after nine of its young people qualified as peer mentors.

The training was delivered by Wellbeing Mentor, Nathalie Carter, and KS4 Progress Leader Sara Hall and included a session on mental health with Darlington Mind.

The programme is intended to equip mentors with the skills and knowledge to be a key point of contact in school for students who need support. All mentoring is carried out in their free time.

The young people applied for the post and after an interview received two days of training and are now fully qualified. It is an official accreditation which can be used as a future qualification.

The nine students involved were: Luke Harding, Philip Walton, Olivia Handley, Emma Hollinshead, Lilian Hardill, Matthew Ramsey, Anya Mason, Evelyn Semple and Daniel Hayden.

Headteacher Julia Polley said: “Miss Carter has been delivering mentoring in school over the past couple of years. Imparting this knowledge to young people will create capacity in our student body to use their own experiences to mentor others.

“This is something that is and will continue to be a vital element of the wellbeing on offer in The Wensleydale School.”

The scheme is now up and running and will be evaluated in a number of weeks. If successful up to 20 will be trained by the summer offering peer mentoring to at least 100 students this year.