Barton Peveril’s lunchtime yoga and meditation sessions have been so successful that they will become a timetabled enrichment option from September. Each session will be open to all levels of ability and will include both yoga and mindfulness, a technique that teaches participants to clear their minds and focus on the moment.
Photography technician and teacher, Dave Tipper, is passionate about the benefits of yoga and meditation for teenagers and has undertaken a number of specialist training courses. Feedback suggests his sessions are really helping students to focus in class and manage anxiety issues.
He explains: “I studied a Meditation for Young People course in London and the feedback from Barton Peveril students has been very positive. They welcome an opportunity to relax, to stop and to find a way of managing anxiety issues.
“The idea is that they are not encouraged to drift off into sleep but to clear their mind in order to become more alert and on the ball.
Feedback suggests that the sessions are really helping people focus in class and even improving their memory skills. This is really beneficial and I would like to think the techniques are helping exam stress too.”
Last year, research carried out by the University of Southampton found that students who attended mindfulness sessions had higher confidence rates in exams and suffered less with stress and anxiety.
More recently, Schools Minister David Laws told a Commons education select committee that the Government is interested in promoting mindfulness courses to boost motivation.
