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A major survey of tens of thousands of school pupils has revealed a welcome boost in wellbeing among young people across Greater 91直播.

The latest findings from pupils in years 7, 8 and 10 show that more young people now report good levels of wellbeing than in previous years, continuing a positive trend that has developed steadily over the past five years of the programme. In 2025, 59.1% of Year 10 pupils reported good levels of wellbeing, up from 55.1% in 2024. Among younger pupils the trend is similar, with 67.7% of Year 7 pupils reporting good wellbeing compared with 64.2% last year. 

The #BeeWell programme at The University of Manchester has now heard from more than 143,000 young people in Greater 91直播 since it began, making it one of the largest studies of young people鈥檚 wellbeing of its kind anywhere in the world. It provides a powerful insight into how teenagers feel about their lives, schools and communities.

While the overall picture is encouraging, young people involved in the programme say the results also highlight areas where change is still needed. Each year the #BeeWell Youth Steering Group - made up of young people from across Greater 91直播 - chooses the issues they believe matter most in the survey results. This year they highlighted three themes they felt were especially important: loneliness and the role communities play in tackling it, relationships with teachers and a sense of belonging at school, and whether young people feel they are gaining the skills they need to be prepared for life.

The survey shows that loneliness among young people has begun to fall since the early years of the programme, when more than half of Year 10 pupils said they felt lonely at least occasionally. By 2025 that figure had dropped to around four in ten young people. Despite this improvement, loneliness remains a significant issue for many teenagers, and the findings suggest that communities have a key role to play in helping young people feel more connected. 

Only around half of young people say there are people in their local area they can trust, and just over half say they have an adult outside their home or school who listens to them. Young people involved in the programme say that having welcoming places to spend time, trusted adults nearby and stronger community connections could make a real difference to how supported young people feel.

Relationships within schools also emerged as an important theme in the data. The survey suggests that positive relationships with teachers and staff are closely linked to whether young people feel they belong at school and whether they attend regularly. Just under a third of Year 7 pupils say they have the strongest relationships with staff at school, but this falls as young people get older, dropping to around one in five by Year 10. 

At the same time, the number of young people who say they feel they belong at school has risen slightly over the past year. Young people say strengthening relationships between staff and pupils could help improve both wellbeing and attendance, as feeling supported and understood at school plays a key role in whether students feel comfortable and engaged in the classroom.

Young people also wanted the report to explore whether schools are helping them prepare for life beyond education. The findings show that four in five young people believe they will have the skills and knowledge they need when they finish school, a figure that has increased since the programme first began collecting data. 

Levels of hope and optimism among young people are also high, with most saying they feel positive about the future. However, only around two thirds of young people say the careers education they receive is useful. Young people involved in the programme say they would like clearer guidance about the wide range of opportunities available to them, including modern careers and different pathways after school.

#BeeWell was launched in 2019 through a partnership between The University of Manchester, The Gregson Family Foundation, Anna Freud and the Greater 91直播 Combined Authority. Each year the programme asks tens of thousands of secondary school pupils about their wellbeing, their schools, their communities and their hopes for the future. By sharing the results with schools, local organisations and decision makers, the programme aims to ensure young people鈥檚 voices help shape the support available to them. 

鈥淚t is incredibly heartening to see this steady climb in wellbeing across our city region - the figures represent thousands of young lives trending toward a more positive future,鈥� said Professor Neil Humphrey from The University of Manchester. 鈥淭hese important gains likely stem from a combination of enhanced local provision and broader population shifts, but the data offers a sobering reminder of the work ahead.鈥� 

鈥淭hank you to the 57,000 young people who shared their views this year, and to the 161 schools who made it possible,鈥� said Councillor Mark Roberts, Greater 91直播鈥檚 portfolio lead for children and young people. 鈥淥ver five years #BeeWell has now heard from more than 143,000 young people, making this the biggest exercise of its kind.

鈥淚n Greater 91直播, we have committed to improving the wellbeing of young people across the city region, and it is through #BeeWell that we can track our progress. As this year鈥檚 results show, there is a need to continue strengthening relationships in schools to improve attendance, ensuring young people remain involved in the development of our Live Well approach, and working so that every young person has a clear line of sight to good jobs, through programmes like the MBacc and Beeline.

鈥淲e will continue to act on the views of young people across our city region, and be guided by our excellent Youth Steering Group, so that every young person in Greater 91直播 can thrive.鈥�

"This is just the start. It's encouraging to see wellbeing improving, but we are at the beginning of a long journey and we鈥檙e excited to see how things continue to improve,鈥� said Daniel & Ayisha from the #BeeWell Youth Steering Group. 鈥淭here are still worrying signs in the data, particularly in the inequalities we see. There are a lot of young people worried about these topics and a lot of work to be done. It's important young people are leading the next steps and actions following the results."