94% are happy. 25% have symptoms of mental ill-health. Both are true
What happened
On 1 October 2026 the Department for Education published the first findings from Growing Up in the 2020s. It is a long-term study. Nearly 8,000 young people in Year 8 - aged 12 and 13 - were surveyed in 2025, along with their parents and carers. The same young people will be followed through secondary school and beyond. It is run by Anna Freud with University College London and Ipsos, and funded by the DfE. It covers England. The headline findings sit uncomfortably side by side. On the positive side, 94% said they were satisfied with life. 98% reported positive relationships with family. 95% reported positive friendships. 71% reported being resilient when facing difficulty. On the other side, 25% reported symptoms of mental ill-health. Among pupils receiving special educational needs support, that figure was 54%, against 17% for their peers. Among those from less well-off homes it was 36%, against 20% from more advantaged homes. Only 63% felt a sense of belonging at school - 57% of girls against 69% of boys, and 54% of pupils with SEN against 66% of others. 19% were persistently absent from school. Among pupils from less well-off homes, 34% were, against 13% of the most advantaged. On health, 25% reported a longstanding health condition, 90% got eight or more hours of sleep on weekdays, and just 17% met the guideline of 60 minutes of physical activity a day.
Why this matters
The study's director, Professor Jess Deighton of Anna Freud and UCL, described the findings as nuanced - both the high level of mental health problems and the positive relationships most Year 8s report. Professor Emla Fitzsimons, co-director of UCL's Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said the study paints a stark picture of the wellbeing challenges young people face. Both descriptions fit, and holding them together is the point. If you only read '94% are satisfied with life', you would conclude that worries about teenage mental health are overblown. If you only read '1 in 4 have symptoms of mental ill-health', you would conclude that childhood in England is in crisis. Neither is accurate. What the data shows instead is that the national average is reasonably good, and that the burden is heavily concentrated. If you receive SEN support, your chance of mental health symptoms is more than three times that of your classmates. If your family has less money, your chance of being persistently absent from school is nearly three times higher. That is not a story about teenagers. It is a story about which teenagers. The gender gap in belonging - 57% of girls against 69% of boys - is also worth sitting with. These are the same schools, the same classrooms, and a 12-point gap in whether you feel you belong in them.
What the evidence actually says
This is wave 1 of a longitudinal study. That matters for how much weight to put on it. A single wave gives you a snapshot. It cannot tell you whether things are getting better or worse, because there is nothing yet to compare with. The value comes later, when the same young people are surveyed again and researchers can see what changed and in what order. So nothing in this release supports a claim that teenage mental health is declining. It supports a claim about where things stood in 2025. The mental health figures are based on symptom measures reported by young people and their parents, not clinical diagnoses. Reporting symptoms is not the same as having a diagnosed condition, and the study does not claim otherwise. 'Persistently absent' has a specific official meaning: missing 10% or more of possible school sessions. That is roughly one day a fortnight. It is a threshold, not a description of a child who never attends. The physical activity finding - 17% meeting the 60-minute guideline - is based on self-report, which tends to overestimate activity rather than underestimate it. If anything, that number may be generous. The sample of nearly 8,000 is large and the study is well designed. These are solid findings about 2025, and genuinely useful only once wave 2 arrives.
Practical advice
If you are a parent of a Year 8-ish child, the most useful figure here is not the mental health one. It is the 17% meeting the activity guideline. That is a gap almost any family can close a little, and physical activity is one of the better-evidenced things for mood as well as bodies. Ask about belonging rather than only about marks. 'Do you feel like you fit in at school?' gets different information from 'how was your day?'. If the answer is no, that is worth following up with the school. If your child receives SEN support, take the 54% figure seriously but not fatalistically. It means mental health should be part of the conversation at review meetings, not an afterthought. If attendance is slipping, act early. Persistent absence builds a habit quickly, and schools have far more options when the pattern is weeks old rather than months. If you are worried about your child's mental health, you do not need to wait for a crisis. A GP is a reasonable first step. Free resources exist from Young Minds and the Anna Freud Centre, and many schools have a mental health lead. And if your child is one of the 94% doing fine, say so to them. Teenagers hear a lot about the crisis and not much about the fact that most of them are all right.
What to know
Growing Up in the 2020s, published on 1 October 2026, surveyed nearly 8,000 Year 8 pupils in England in 2025. Most are doing well: 94% satisfied with life, 98% positive family relationships, 95% positive friendships, 71% resilient. But 25% reported symptoms of mental ill-health, rising to 54% among pupils receiving SEN support and 36% among those from less well-off homes. Only 63% felt they belonged at school, with a 12-point gap between girls (57%) and boys (69%). 19% were persistently absent, rising to 34% among less well-off pupils. 90% slept eight hours or more on weekdays, but only 17% met the 60-minute daily activity guideline. This is wave 1, so it describes 2025 rather than a trend. Sources: Department for Education (GOV.UK), 'Growing Up in the 2020s: first survey of young people at age 12 and 13', 1 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/growing-up-in-the-2020s-first-survey-of-young-people-at-age-12-and-13; UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, 'Most young people happy with life at age 13, but mental health issues are common', 1 October 2026, https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/most-young-people-happy-with-life-at-age-13-but-mental-health-issues-are-common/; Anna Freud, 'Growing Up in the 2020s national study', https://www.annafreud.org/research/current-research-projects/growing-up-in-the-2020s-national-study/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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