Parents hope that when young people leave home to take up places at university they will thrive in the new environment. Often, it is teenagers’ first experience of living independently. Nearly all will face some challenges. But in recent years, there have been a number of high-profile instances in which the strain has proved too much. Last week, the father of Jos Winfield, who took his own life in June, became the latest parent to issue a warning. Mark Winfield advised other parents of students to “keep a close eye on your kids” studying away from home, and added his voice to a campaign to persuade universities to offer more support.
Moving away to study for a degree is a rite of passage more common in the UK than many other countries. There is evidence that longstanding British convention is shifting, with one survey finding a sharp rise in the number of first-year students opting to remain in the family home, due to financial pressures. But of around 600,000 UK-domiciled young people due to start an undergraduate course this autumn, around two-thirds are expected to relocate.
Earlier this year, the government rejected campaigners’ calls to impose a statutory duty of care on universities. Universities UK argues that increased investment in mental health services would be more beneficial than legislation. But pressure on ministers and the sector is building. At the recent inquest into the death of Matthew Wickes, the coroner issued a “prevention of future deaths” report – highlighting potential risks – and suggested that there should be an early warning system to help identify students struggling with their mental health.
Earlier this year, Sir Keir Starmer made reducing the number of suicides one of his key health policy pledges, and highlighted the toll of young lives in particular (men are statistically far more likely to kill themselves than women, although suicides of young women have recently risen). Such tragic incidents are widely acknowledged to form part of a bigger, and worrying, picture regarding young people’s mental health and difficulty in accessing treatment.
