Dave McPartlan is a 3rd-year full time PhD student at the University of Cumbria. He has been working with thirteen 6th form student volunteers at William Howard, a large comprehensive academy in north east Cumbria. As part of the project the 6th form students have been working with a number of younger students in the school. Acting as co-researchers and collaborating with Dave, they have been involved in the design, data collection and analysis of this Youth Participative Action Research project. The focus of the project is investigating the efficacy of the whole school mental health strategy that was introduced 3 years ago. The research team is also interested in developing a research model that can be used in other secondary schools to aid school improvement.