Toby Young Toby Young

Don’t let these figures depress you, girls

A badly thought-out survey has been twisted beyond recognition to smear Conservative education reforms

issue 30 September 2017

Are British teenagers suffering from an epidemic of mental illness? Yes, according to a ‘government-funded study’ which found that 24 per cent of 14-year-old girls are suffering from depression. This has been seized upon by critics of Conservative education policies; they see it as ‘proof’ that the increased focus on teaching children knowledge, as well as more frequent testing and the GCSE reforms, have literally driven children mad.

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