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Covid-19 proving to be detrimental to students mental Health

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Mental health issues are rising amongst students at Winchester University as lockdown ends and the Tier 2 system comes into place on the 2nd of December.

After a month-long lockdown, student services have seen a rise in the severity of cases where students are reaching out for help. Head of Mental Wellbeing at the University Natasha Dean said”

“It certainly has been a very challenging time for everyone in the last few months and of course, this is also true for students at Winchester. We have noticed that the severity of the difficulties being experienced by some of our students has increased, so we are seeing more higher need and higher risk cases.”

Depsite the struggle, Winchester Unviersity have put in place support for those struggling.

“With regards to Covid specific support, the mental wellbeing team has been involved in setting up activities and support for students who have to self isolate as well as adapting to be able to offer many of our services online, rather than in person. We have had to learn new skills to be able to do this.”

3rd year Psychology student Lauren Dennet who voiced her thoughts on how the work load is affecting her: “Coming back from months of laying in bed, having my parents cook my meals and having no essays to write, its been hard for me to find time relax since moving back to Winchester.”

“I’m feeling very stressed out as its very hard to focus when you aren’t sat in a room with your lecturers so I am starting to worry about how my anxiety will effect me when I start to write my dissertation.” 

In a recent study carried out by DigIn a student mental health charity, a student mental wellbeing group aiming to make voices heard, figures show 42.3% of the students that took part are suffering with some sort of mental health issue that requires professional help and 26.6% of them currently have a diagnosis.

Although young people have access to Student Services and other external forms of help, 8.1% admitted to using alcohol drugs to fall asleep at night. These statistics were gathered during the pandemic and have shown an increase from last year, showing how badly Covid has affected the younger generation mentally. 


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Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 2025 launches in Winchester

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“Wearing a poppy during Remembrance shows that you care,” says the Royal British Legion, as this year’s Poppy Appeal is launched in the lead-up to Remembrance Day. 

Poppies are on sale across the country | Photo Credit: Kieran Tibbert

The annual fundraising campaign by the Royal British Legion supports members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, personnel and their families. 

Chris Hayward is managing the Poppy Appeal in North Hampshire & Winchester and said: “It’s a national symbol, and it shows the armed forces community that you appreciate everything that they do.” 

She added: “For those who want to get involved, you can wear your poppy, donate to the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal, and also participate in the collections and volunteer as a collector.” 

The Poppy Appeal remains the Legion’s biggest annual fundraiser.  

Last year, more than 32 million poppies were distributed across the UK, and about £51.4 million was raised in donations. 

Winchester will be recognising remembrance itself, with a service at the Cathedral on Sunday, 9th November, in addition to a service at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on Armistice Day. 

The service will begin at 9:20 am and will include a procession from The Broadway to Winchester Cathedral, as well as wreath laying too. 

Donations from the campaign go towards services including mental health support, housing assistance and employment advice for veterans transitioning to civilian life. 

For more information on how to donate, volunteer or order poppies online, visit: britishlegion.org.uk/poppyappeal.  

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How the NHS can recommend gardening to improve metal health

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A panel of gardening experts answered the burning questions of Winchester gardeners at a Question Time style Q&A held at St Swithun’s School.

Questions ranged from what soil to use this time of year to why some types of plants aren’t flourishing in Winchester but, as the gardening event fell on World Mental Health Day, this posed another question: whether the two are connected?

Gardening is an example of a “nature-related activity”, which can be recommended by the NHS to improve mental wellbeing under a term called social prescribing.

The panel’s Charles Carr, head of Wholesale Nurseries at Hilliers, shared how he thinks gardening is beneficial to your mental health.

Charles described it as “relaxation” and “contacting with nature”.

He believes it is a very good way of “de-stressing and putting yourself into the moment”.

Attendees of the event also shared why they enjoy their hobby.

Neil Budd, a parent from the school and regular BBC Gardener’s Question Time listener, got into gardening as a young boy but now enjoys the “peace and quiet” that it provides from his children.

He wasn’t surprised to learn that nature-related activities like gardening can be recommended by the NHS, as he says it helps you relax as well as being a break away from work.

Former social worker, Roberta Brockman is an ex St Swithuns pupil who returned to the school for the Gardeners Q&A.

She emphasised how the hobby encourages people to join gardening clubs and enter shows, which can create new friendships for people later in life.

According to NHS England, more than 8,500 people were referred to a green social prescribing activity between April 2021 and March 2023 and findings showed improvements in mental health.

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Turning the page: Can young people fall Back in love with reading?

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When is the last time you picked up a book for the sake of your own enjoyment?

Once a beloved childhood pastime, reading books is now becoming more rare among young people.

An annual report by the National Literacy Trust found that reading rates among younger generations are plummeting every year.

The study found that the amount of young people aged eight to 18 who read for their own enjoyment has dropped to just 1 in 3.

This has resulted in a 36% decrease from when the study began taking place 20 years ago.

Professionals are growing concerned about young peoples comprehension skills, empathy levels, and their creativity, all attributes which are strongly connected to reading.

In an age of scrolling, streaming, and gaming, the appeal of a paperback no longer seems to compete with screens.

But in Winchester, community efforts are helping to spark that interest again.

Local children’s bookseller Jo works with schools to run author events and workshops to get stories back into young hands.

“Authors go in to schools and talk to the kids directly about their books and get them really engaged and I see that have such a great effect.”

As reading habits evolve, experts advise the goal isn’t to fight technology, it’s to find new ways to make stories matter again.

For reading to thrive like before, families, schools, and publishers will need to work together to make stories feel relevant and remind young people that reading is educational in more ways than one.

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