IN MY SKIN

"I often wonder what life would be like if I hadn't been excluded ... being excluded wasn't something I was expecting, but it hurts" - A Geelong teenager

These are the hearbreaking words of a 14-year-old girl from Belmont High School. In part one of a new five-part series starting today, our teenagers reveal what's in their heart and minds. The series In My Skin was 12 months in the making and is essential reading for every parent.

THEY want to be liked and to fit in.

They’re not happy with their body shape and wish their pimples would disappear.

They feel under pressure to perform socially and at school; to please their parents, their teachers, their sports coaches and, above all, their peers.

They want to grow up but fear what the future holds.

They are neither child nor adult; they are teenagers.

In a special series called In My Skin starting today, the Geelong Advertiser reveals what teenagers think about school, family, friends, body image, bullying, peer pressure, social media and much more.

The series has been almost a year in the making, with discussions in relation to the project starting last November.

Early this year, we visited the school and spoke to all 150 Belmont High year 9 students.

We asked them to tell us, in their own words, what it was like to be 14 or 15 and living in Geelong. Students were able to write as much or as little as they liked, and about whatever they liked, as long as it provided an insight into their life and feelings.

The writing exercise was coordinated by the school’s English department, with most pieces completed in class.

In what proved something of a surprise to teachers, students threw themselves into the task, obviously welcoming the opportunity to have their say and be heard.

The writing produced was honest, raw, compelling and often confronting. Sometimes it was humorous and at other times heart-breaking.

While students could opt to have their names and/ or photos attached to their work, they could also elect to be published anonymously or have their writing withheld from publication.

The school and students’ parents were also asked to provide consent for writing pieces to be published.

As a result, the approval process took many months and not all of the writing can be reproduced in the In My Skin series. However, the Geelong Advertiser has been given access to all of the pieces and the series has been informed by the body of work as a whole.

Some of the writing pieces were clearly a cry for help and uncovered potential problems in relation to the state of mind and mental health of a small number of students. The authors of these pieces were followed up by the school’s specialist welfare staff, with students in need being offered additional support.

Other broader areas of concern exposed are being looked at by the school and will help shape future policy and guide curriculum development.

The school has said the In My Skin exercise was so beneficial, it will be repeated with year 9 classes every year.

As Belmont High is a National Curriculum trial site, it is possible the writing activity will become part of the standard year 9 curriculum in schools across the country.

The Geelong Advertiser would like to thank the English department of Belmont High, and in particular the head of English, Barbara Daff, for participating so enthusiastically in this project. Principal Garry Shultz and assistant principal Julia Love must also be thanked for their willingness to enter into a partnership with the Geelong Advertiser and for their trust and transparency.

The paper acknowledges many schools would be reluctant to allow such free and honest dialogue between their students and a journalist and believes Belmont High is to be commended for its show of faith in the local paper.

We have tried to repay that trust by putting the students’ welfare first at all times and consulting the school at every opportunity.

Most of all, the Geelong Advertiser would like to thank the wonderful year 9 students at Belmont High who bared their souls for the series. Their passionate, heart-felt accounts of life at 14 and 15 will hopefully lead to a better understanding of teenagers by parents and the wider community.

Thank you Belmont High year 9s — Geelong has a lot to be proud of.