Anatomy of Anxiety in British Secondary Schools: What 2,000 Pupils Told Us

50% have avoided school because of anxiety. The average pupil misses 22 days a year. Just 6% feel their teacher always understands them.

Something has shifted in British secondary schools, and the official attendance figures only tell half the story. Behind every "persistently absent" label is a young person making a daily calculation about whether they can face the corridor, the classroom, the lunch hall.

To understand what's actually happening, MVA commissioned independent research with 2,000 secondary school pupils across the UK.

The findings are uncomfortable - and they should be on every headteacher's desk.

In Anatomy of Anxiety in British Secondary Schools, we unpack:

• Why half of pupils have avoided school due to anxiety, and what triggers it
• The gap between how supported pupils feel and how supported schools think they are
• What pupils say would actually make a difference
• Practical implications for SLT, pastoral teams, and parents weighing alternatives

Download the full report below:

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