Supporting the High Performance Foundation in Addressing Norfolk’s Youth Mental Strength Crisis
A major new report from the High Performance Foundation has highlighted an urgent mental strength crisis affecting young people across Norfolk. As a Norfolk based business, we want to share the findings and help raise awareness of the scale of the challenge faced by students in our local schools.
What the Report Found
Strengthening Young Minds: The National Youth Mental Strength Report is the UK’s first and largest study into youth mental strength. It reveals that young people in Norfolk are struggling significantly more than their peers across the country.
Key findings include:
Norfolk ranks second worst nationally for mental strength.
Rising levels of anxiety and emotional distress now exceed the national average.
One in five young people in the county is likely to have a probable mental health disorder.
Students face increasing pressures from social media, AI, academic competition and the cost of living.
Led by Professor John Jerrim from the UCL Institute of Education and ImpactEd Group, the study surveyed nearly 4,000 young people across 28 secondary schools. The goal was to define, measure and benchmark mental strength in a way that has never been done before.
Why Mental Strength Matters
Chloe Dannatt, CEO of the High Performance Foundation, explains the issue clearly.
Mental strength refers to the ability to manage thoughts, emotions and behaviours in a way that supports confidence and resilience. Despite how essential these skills are, there has been no consistent or evidence-based way to measure them, leaving schools and communities without the clarity they need to act effectively.
This report changes that.
Introducing Game Plan: A Countywide Solution
In response to the findings, the Foundation is launching a Norfolk wide rollout of Game Plan, an educational programme designed with teachers and featuring role models from sport, entertainment and business.
Game Plan focuses on six core mental strength skills:
resilience, emotional control, accountability, self-belief, connection and commitment.
Schools can integrate the programme into tutor time, PSHE or assemblies. Independent evaluation involving 2,000 pupils shows that Game Plan significantly improves wellbeing and engagement, helping young people develop the skills they need to thrive.
The Foundation aims to bring Game Plan to all 109 state secondary schools in Norfolk, prioritising those serving the county’s most disadvantaged communities.
Co-founder Jake Humphrey, through his work on the High Performance Podcast and Foundation, emphasises the urgency. Young people in Norfolk are facing a resilience crisis that cannot wait. Anxiety, fear of failure and low confidence are holding back a generation, particularly in the areas that need support most.
Proud to Support the Norfolk Taskforce
Pivotal is part of the Norfolk Taskforce, a collective of local organisations working together to help deliver Game Plan across the county. Other members include Birketts LLP, Minors and Brady, Norwich Accountancy, Paddy & Scotts Coffee and Azoth Accountancy.
Why This Matters to Us
Supporting young people in our region is deeply important to us. Norfolk’s students are growing up in a world that is more complex, more connected and more demanding than ever. Creating space for mental strength education is essential if we want to give them the tools to succeed.
Game Plan has already supported 28,000 young people nationally, with a goal of reaching one million by 2030. Bringing this programme to every secondary school in Norfolk has the potential to create lasting change for thousands of young people right here in our county.
Learn More
The full report, Strengthening Young Minds, is available on the High Performance Foundation website.