Without sense of direction, young people may stumble into abyss

The Prince’s Trust Youth index also reveals that one in 10 feel their days “lacked structure and direction” while growing up. The charity’s fourth annual index, which gauges how young people feel about their lives, makes glum reading.

Sam Kennedy, regional director of The Prince’s Trust in Yorkshire and The Humber, says youngsters who don’t have regular bedtimes and set meal times are more likely to struggle at school. “We know from our work with young people across the region that the absence of structure and routine in a young life can have a devastating impact. Without the right support, directionless teenagers can become lost young adults ,” she says.

But the Trust is trying to tackle these issues through in-school “xl” clubs aimed at helping the hardest-to-reach young people by providing intense, structured support which they believe can prevent teenagers becoming drop-outs. “The results of the Youth Index over the past four years can often be linked to larger issues in the wider world, says Peter Kellner, president of YouGov.

“Last year’s results showed the real-time effect the financial crisis had on young people and this year the research highlights an important link between educational attainment and wellbeing. By keeping young people engaged in and out of the classroom, through the xl clubs and other schemes, The Prince’s Trust is helping to create a more resilient generation, equipped with crucial skills.”

The research was carried out by YouGov and is based on interviews with more than 2,000 young people in the UK aged between 16 and 25. Although it only provides a snapshot of the mindset of some young people, it highlights their concerns about everything from job prospects to their relationships with friends and family.

Toni Elkington is a 19-year-old from Leeds. Her world fell apart seven years ago when she found out her mum had cancer. She went off the rails, turning to drink and drugs to block out the pain. As her mother’s condition worsened, Toni started to run away from home and was eventually taken into foster care and shortly afterwards her mum died.

“After my mum died, I thought the only place I would end up would be in prison or dead,” says Toni. “I never got up in the morning to go to school. I would spend a whole day in bed, taking drugs and getting off my head on booze. I think I went through practically every foster home in Leeds.”

She got in trouble with the police and ended up on a supervision order. She was heading for the abyss when she was given a new foster placement, which proved a turning point. Her new foster parents insisted she attend school, where she joined The Prince’s Trust xl club, which offers 14 to 16-year-olds an alternative curriculum and one-to-one support.

This helped boost her self-confidence and she started studying properly and even took extra classes and, just 10 months later she passed 10 GCSEs. She has since been to college and now works as a plasterer. “If it wasn’t for The Prince’s Trust, I think I would have been sent down a long time ago or maybe I would have overdosed on drugs. Instead, I’m in full-time work, sober and in control of my life.”