Happy new year, first of all.

If the end of 2012 is anything to go by, Marden has every reason to look forward to 2013 with genuine optimism. Our last week of term was one of the best I’ve experienced. There was an array of exciting events such as our year 8 super learning day (Marden Lumiere), a year 7 literary heritage tea party and a wonderful concert, featuring the first live performance by our new orchestra. All of this was rounded off in the happy, festive form of our carol service in a packed out St. George’s Church.

So now we’re ready to face a momentous 2013 with staff and student visits to Turkey, South Korea, New York, London, France and Germany and, of course, the much anticipated arrival of Young Americans in March. And there are high hopes of how well year 11 will do in their exams.

Now mention of our wonderful year 11 reminds me of something I’m very much looking forward to in the new year.

Like many teachers, I’ve become increasingly concerned about…now brace yourselves because you don’t often hear this word in modern educational parlance…HAPPINESS.

A few years ago, a UNESCO survey found that British young people are the unhappiest in Europe with disturbingly high levels of stress and low self esteem. It’s self evidently wrong that childhood is spoilt in this way and as adults we should ask ourselves some tough questions about what kind of society we have created to have such a negative impact on the emotional well being of our young.

I’m sure that modern schooling can contribute to this malaise. The demand for higher standards has resulted in tougher expectations of students and this can be damaging.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The pressure of academic study has always been there and will not go away. It’s a matter of economic necessity that we produce younger generations who are highly educated and able to contribute effectively to our prosperity in this new century.

In that case, schools should teach the skills of dealing with the inevitable challenges of exams so that young people have the strategies to remain positive and resilient as they make their way through school, sixth form and university.

Some primary schools have made progress with this by following a programme called SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning), but, up to now, there hasn’t been much available for older students who are already shackled to the exams treadmill. That’s why I was delighted to come across a scheme called Mindfulness in Schools. This programme teaches students how to deal with the demands of gaining academic success. They learn to understand how their minds work and strategies to relieve stress and overcome negative thoughts.

And so I’m really looking forward to starting a Mindfulness in Schools pilot project with a group of year 11 volunteers later this month. The course will be led by Jill Cox, the only accredited practitioner in Mindfulness in Schools in the north east. If it works, it will boost our students’ confidence and sense of well being and help them fulfil their potential at GCSE and in exams they take in the future.

This idea has been warmly received by the students who appreciate the school taking the initiative in providing support before problems arise. So it’s totally Carpe Diem!

And on the Carpe Diem, seize the day theme, I feel better too. Might Mindfulness be a way of teaching our young people how to be happy…even when the going gets tough?