Teen mentalhealth focus crucial
“ IF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY ARE NOT RECOGNISED AND TREATED EARLY THEY CAN PERSIST INTO ADULTHOOD AND AFFECT EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, RELATIONSHIPS AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE”
One in three young adolescents in the Western Cape are experiencing symptoms of depression, while one in five show signs of anxiety, according to University of Cape Town (UCT) research that underscores an urgent need for mental-health support in South African schools.
The findings, drawn from a survey of 621 learners aged 10-14 across 10 primary schools in the province, revealed that 33% experienced symptoms of depression and 21% reported symptoms of anxiety.
The research formed part of the PhD work of Mirriam Mkhize, a social worker and researcher who graduated in March 2026 with a doctorate in psychiatry. Her thesis examined the mental-health needs of school-going adolescents aged 10-14 in the Western Cape.
Mkhize’s study found that mental-health symptoms were strongly associated with school-related pressure, substance use and exposure to family violence.
“This suggests mental-health support must be integrated with broader social and educational initiatives and highlights the need for early mental-health promotion and prevention during early adolescence.”
While the results were based on Western Cape schools, and not nationally representative, Mkhize said they provided a concerning baseline for understanding the
mental health of this age group.
“It is important to clarify that while these figures indicate a high symptom prevalence rather than clinical diagnoses they underscore an urgent need for comprehensive school-based mental health support and early intervention.”
The research, funded by the Sue Struengmann Initiative and supervised by Professor Katherine Sorsdahl and Associate Professor Claire van der Westhuizen, also examined how broader social factors influenced adolescent mental health.
“In contexts where families and communities are experiencing economic hardship, exposure to violence or ongoing stress adolescents may face additional emotional and psychological challenges,” Mkhize explained.
Her findings showed exposure to family violence and substance use, particularly alcohol and cannabis, significantly increased the likelihood of adolescents experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Schools are often one of the few stable environments where adolescents’ mental health needs can be recognised and addressed, though many face structural constraints that limit their ability to provide mental-health support.
TESTING SCREENING TOOLS
Another component of Mkhize’s research examined mental health screening tools for identifying depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents in low-resource school settings. The results showed that some tools performed well in resource-constrained school contexts, but still require validation and adaptation for the local context.
“These findings have implications that could help improve early detection and intervention for mental-health conditions in settings where specialised mental-health services are limited,” Mkhize said.
INTERVENTION SHOWS PROMISE
She also assessed a co-adapted version of the World Health Organisation's Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) intervention, designed to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety among adolescents and improve parenting skills among caregivers. The South African version of EASE, delivered to 79 adolescents and 33 caregivers, was found to be feasible to deliver in school settings and acceptable to participants. The study showed improvements in symptoms of depression, anxiety and mental well-being among adolescents,
while caregivers reported improvements in parenting practices, including reduced use of corporal punishment and increased use of the skills taught in the intervention.
Mkhize said investing in adolescent mental health is a public-health priority because many mental health conditions begin during adolescence, and early experiences can shape wellbeing across the life course. Poor mental health during adolescence can also have broader societal consequences. “If depression and anxiety are not recognised and treated early they can persist into adulthood and affect education, employment opportunities, relationships and overall quality of life,” Mkhize said.
However, adolescence also represents a critical window for prevention and early intervention. “Supporting young people during this stage can strengthen coping skills, improve emotional well-being and reduce the likelihood of severe mental health conditions later in life,” Mkhize pointed out. “Investing in school-based mental health promotion, early identification and accessible support services therefore has the potential to generate significant long-term benefits for individuals, communities and the broader economy.” Her next steps focused on scaling evidence-based mental-health interventions for adolescents in schools.
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Worcester Gymnasium top achiever Heloise Pretorius was the top AdMaths student in 2025 with an incredible percentage of 97%. The school praised her dedication, perseverance and passion for excellence. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/WORCESTER GYMNASIUM naars-kompetisie weggestap het. Dié graad 10-leer-
Zwelethemba High School’s STEM Coding and Robotics Club visited the Cape Town Science Centre on 21 March. The trip served as excellent preparation for next term’s activities, with a strong focus on improving coding skills. The learners participated in hands-on workshop training sessions and also took part in a short Micro-bit competition. FOTO: FACEBOOK/ZWELETHEMBA HIGH SCHOOL
LEERDERS WOEKER
Die Hoërskool Breërivier se Interact-klub, wat al langer as 15 jaar bestaan, is onlangs deur Juanita Wilkinson, die president van Worcester se Rotariërklub en die rotariër Heloise Beukes, wat die direkteur vir jeug en beroepsopleiding is, besoek. Die skool beplan ’n rits aktiwiteite vir die jaar wat deur die Rotariërs ondersteun gaan word.
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na ons
1. ’n Gebraaide hoender vlieg niemand in die mond nie.
Betekenis: ’n Mens moet jou inspan om iets te kry / Sonder inspanning kry jy niks.
2. Stille waters, diepe grond … (onder draai die duiwel rond)
Betekenis: Stil mense verras jou dikwels / is dikwels vol bose planne.
3. Te veel ysters in die vuur hê.
Betekenis: Met te veel sake gelyk besig wees.
4. Iemand het baie letters geëet. Betekenis: Iemand is baie geleerd.
5. Die baba saam met die badwater uitgooi. Betekenis: Oordrewe – Om ook die goeie deel van ’n bepaalde saak saam met die slegte deel daarvan te verwerp. - Afrikaans.com
Op pad om balle in Londen te sink
Enrico Claassen
Toe hy hulle destyds genooi het om by sy Snoeker-akademie in De Doorns aan te sluit, het hulle niks van die sport geweet nie. Hulle kon skaars 'n snoekerstok reg vashou.
Vandag is Jermino Fink (15), Per-Joe Grispe (15) en Jayden Willemse (13) – al drie van De Doorns – hul land se trots omdat hulle Suid-Afrika later vanjaar in die Wêreld-Blackball-kampioenskap, wat van 20 tot 28 Oktober by die Thistle Hotel in Heathrow in Londen gaan plaasvind, gaan verteenwoordig.
Volgens die seuns se afrigter, Hendrik Horsemend, het die driestuk hulle goed van hul taak gekwyt toe hulle tydens die SA Nasionale Junior Blackball-kampioenskap, wat van 13 tot 18 April in Durban beslis is, in die SA Junior o.18-span opgeneem is.
Jayden is as die SA Nasionale Junior o.18 Blackball-kampioen vir 2026/7 gekroon.
Die spelers se spanbestuurder. Joey Grispe, het hulle vergesel.
Angelo Plaatjies het ook aan die kampioenskap in Durban deelgeneem, maar het nie verder deurgedring nie.
Horsemend sê die seuns is die afgelope vyf jaar reeds lid van sy De Doorns Pool Academy.
Volgens hom het hy op die akademie besluit om onder meer die kinders uit die strate te hou en ook omdat daar nie regtig aktiwiteite vir die kinders in De Doorns is nie.
Hy sê sy klub bestaan uit altesame 25 lede, van wie sowat 20 juniors is.
Volgens Horsemend dek die nasionale liggaam Blackball South Africa 80% van die kostes vir die seuns se internasionale reis.
Die seuns het aan Skole Vibes gesê hulle is baie opgewonde en dankbaar oor die geleentheid wat hulle te beurt geval het.
Diegene wat belangstel om by die De Doorns Pool Academy aan te sluit, kan Horsemend by 071 264 0055 bel.
Vuurvliegies van Beaufort-Wes trek medaljes los
Vuurvliegieakademie het onlangs die toutrekwêreld gaande gehad tydens die SA Junior Toutrekkampioenskap, wat op 20 en 21 Maart 2026 in Robertson plaasgevind het. Wat hierdie prestasie so merkwaardig maak, is dat dit slegs die tweede keer was dat die skool aan die nasionale kampioenskap deelneem. Hierdie private Afrikaanse Christelike laerskool van Beaufort-Wes het in sewe gewigsafdelings in die Presi-
dent-ontwikkelingsliga ingeskryf en met ’n indrukwekkende oes van vyf medaljes huis toe gekom:
Die medaljewenners:
◊230-kg-brons: Hierdie span het met slegs sewe trekkers deelgeneem.
◊280-kg-silwer: Verloor die SA kampioenskap met slegs een trek.
◊340-kg- silwer (meisies): Dié span het ook met slegs
sewe trekkers deelgeneem en die SA Kampioenskap ook met net een trek verloor.
◊400-kg-goud: Gekroon as SA kampioen.
◊440-kg-goud: Gekroon as SA kampioen.
’n Standaard toutrekspan bestaan gewoonlik uit agt trekkers, wat die prestasies van die kleiner spanne (230-kg-seuns en 340-kg-meisies) selfs nog meer besonders maak.
Per-Joe Grispe (links), Jayden Willemse en Jermino Fink neem later vanjaar aan die WêreldBlackball-kampioenskap in Londen deel.
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Drie leerders van HTS Drostdy was onlangs op die Krieket Suid-Afrika se o.19-vrouekamp. Mia-Lize van der Vyver, Lizé de Waal en Daneli Boshoff het die kamp in Pretoria bygewoon. Krieket Suid-Afrika en die SA20 het die kamp aangebied waar hulle fokus op hoëprestasie-ontwikkeling en voorbereiding vir die 2027 se o. 19-vroue-T20-wêreldbeker. Die skool is trots daarop dat drie van die 25 spelers uit hul geledere kom! FOTO: FACEBOOK/BELEEF HTS DROSTDY
MJ Smit of Worcester Gymnasium represented the Boland u-17 team as captain at the Junior Triangular, which took place at the Robertson Golf Club from 18 to 19 April. The Boland team beat the Western Province and the Southern Cape. They played five rounds of singles match play. MJ won eight games, drew one and lost one game. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ WORCESTER GYMNASIUM
Die blits Naiel Gertse van die Worcester Secondary School for the Arts is gekies om aan die Suid-Afrikaanse kampioenskap, wat in Pretoria plaasvind, deel te neem. Hy is deel van die Wes-Kaapse span vir die 110-m-hekkies vir seuns o.19. FOTO: FACEBOOK/ WORCESTER SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS
’n Groep krieketspelers van HTS Drostdy het onlangs hul tassies vir ’n opwindende toer na Indië gepak. Die groep het op 24 April vertrek en gaan vyf wedstryde teen sterk teenstanders speel. Enige krieket-entoesias sal opgewonde raak oor die Indian Premier League-wedstryd (IPL) wat hulle gaan bywoon om die Indiese krieketkultuur eerstehands te ervaar. Die wêreldbekende Taj Mahal is ook op hul reislys. FOTO: FACEBOOK/BELEEF HTS DROSTDY
Worcester Primêre Skool se onlangse kaskardag was ’n fees. Al die leerders, van graad R tot graad 7 het die kaskarre om die baan laat vlieg – elke span aangetrek volgens hul kleurvolle tema. FOTO: FACEBOOK/WORCESTER PRIMÊRE SKOOL
Die Hoërskool Montana se rugbyspelers het op Saterdag 25 April ’n meestersklas by JP Smith, wat voorheen ’n Lions-rugbypeler was, tydens ’n kliniek by die skool gekry. Tydens hierdie geleentheid om hul vaardighede te ontwikkel het die spelers waardevolle kennis oor die spel en praktiese tegnieke opgebou. FOTO: FACEBOOK/HOËRSKOOL MONTANA
