Morley mum says GCSE pressure pushed her son to commit suicide
Daniel Long was just 15 when he took his own life in his bedroom
Last updated 16th Oct 2017
A Leeds mum has exclusively told Radio Aire how her 15-year-old son took his own life in his bedroom because he became so stressed revising for exams.
“He went out the night before,” says Emma Oliver from Morley.
“He went out with his friends, I gave him some money and they bought a pizza. Then he came home that morning, he ate his breakfast, had a bath. Then he went up to his room.
“I was up there in the afternoon. I saw him 20 minutes before, I tapped him on the head and said ‘you alright?’ I came downstairs to make a roast dinner. And in 20 minutes he’d committed suicide.”
Despite giving Daniel CPR when she found him, Emma couldn’t save her son. An inquest concluded he was suffering with acute anxiety.
Emma says she began noticing changes in Daniel’s behaviour at the start of the year when he was studying for his mock GCSEs. His year were the first to sit exams under the new, more challenging system being rolled out by the government, which puts more focus on one final set of tests. Despite getting As and A*s, Daniel became fixated on revising, and started having trouble eating and sleeping.
The pressure eventually became so much that he decided to take his own life in February.
Since deciding to share what happened to Danial in a post online, Emma says she’s been shocked at the amount of messages she’s received from local parents worried about their own children struggling with exams.
She’s now starting a campaign calling for more counsellors in schools so that students have somebody to talk to if they’re struggling. She also wants better training for teachers, so they can help spot the signs of a mental health problem.
She also wants to break down the stigma of mental health among teenagers:
Emma’s concerned Daniel won’t be the last young person to end his life in this way if the government doesn’t ease the pressure on teachers and pupils in schools:
“I could not believe the amount of people that got in touch with me and said they’re worried about their children who are sitting their exams next year. We’re in October, and their exams don’t start till May. And they’re already stressing about it. And I feel sorry for the parents and the children who are about to sit their exams, because in the inquest the teacher said the exams are set to get harder.
“They start getting stressed from the age of six when they’re sitting their SATs. I’ve spoken to primary school teachers since Daniel passed away. When you’ve got six-year-olds crying in the playground because of their SATs, you’ve got mental health issues right there. It’s wrong.
“I would hate for another child to go through what he did. And end his life when he had so much to live for.”
A Government spokesperson said:
“We want all children to have good mental health and fulfil their potential. Our recently published survey of mental health provision in schools and colleges shows the importance that is already being placed on good mental health support. The new national funding formula – backed up by £1.3bn extra funding for schools - will help schools to build on that success
“To provide further support we are offering mental health first aid training to every secondary school, giving staff the confidence to support pupils with mental health issues. We are also investing £1.4bn in children’s mental health services, with strengthened links between mental health staff and schools to ensure children receive support when they need it.”
You can find more information about Emma's #TeamDaniel campaign here.