School friends have volunteered to spend a year talking to their peers about mental illness in a bid to end the stigma and discrimination that surrounds it.

Daniel King, Megan Storey and Jack Burnage, all 17, and 16-year-olds Rachel Keys, Halle Martin and Samantha White, all pupils at Wrotham School, are working with Time to Change.

The national campaign, led by mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, is funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund.

The group started by talking about mental health in school assemblies and have carried out a survey to assess the current attitudes of pupils, which they will repeat at the end of the project.

Megan said: “It’s important people know how much this project means to us, we’re so passionate about it.

“When we did the assembly for Year 7 some of them looked bewildered. They had no idea of the impact mental health issues such as depression could have on people’s lives. There are a lot of misconceptions about mental health – we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Head teacher Matthew Wright, who is working with Time to Change and other head teachers to share the results of the students’ work with other schools, said: “Research has shown that one in 10 pupils experience mental health problems while at secondary school. Often the only time we deal with young people with mental health issues is when they’ve reached crisis point.

“If people felt comfortable talking about mental health we could get them treatment before that point.”

The school, in Borough Green Road, employed a psychologist last month to work with individuals and groups.

The pupils will run an information stall at parents’ evenings and the school open evening on Thursday, November 19, to share their work.