Courtney Pemble made the decision to drop out of school when she was 15 due to severe mental health struggles – since then she’s started a campaign calling for better support for neurodivergent pupils
By Antonia Vlad
Earlier this month, 16-year-old Courtney Pemble from Chingford would’ve been celebrating year eleven leavers’ day, hugely significant chapter in anyone’s education that is traditionally celebrated by students signing their classmates’ school uniforms.
But Courtney left secondary school in year ten shortly after being diagnosed with autism; she was struggling with her mental health and said her school failed to adequately support her.
Not wanting to feel shut out from her peers, Courtney launched the campaign ‘Fix the System Not the Student’ to raise awareness of how the UK education system “overlooks the needs of neurodivergent students”.
Initially, she started the campaign with the intention of meeting fellow students with similar experiences who could sign her shirt and share their stories.
So far, over 2,500 young people have reached out to share similar experiences they faced in secondary school, and the campaign
has gone viral – something Courtney was not expecting but is extremely grateful for.
She said: “I felt a mix of emotions knowing that people feel the same and that I wasn’t alone.” Everyone who shared their stories asked to have their names added to her collection of shirts.
While she was at school, Courtney struggled severely with her mental health, which eventually began to affect her attendance and made going to school an “anxiety-inducing” experience.
When she tried to raise her concerns with her teachers and asked to be assessed, they rejected her request because they didn’t believe she exhibited “concerning behaviour”.
Naturally, this response led Courtney to feel marginalised, as her peers and teachers “didn’t take the time to understand that everyone has different ways of learning”.
She believes that a one-size-fits-all system is flawed. While at school, her academic performance deteriorated until she made the decision to remove herself completely due to mental struggles that she says were not acknowledged.
Reflecting on her time trying to navigate her mental health difficulties at school, Courtney said: “What would’ve helped me was a little recognition and understanding, it was clear they weren’t willing to help.”
Courtney is now developing talks with schools to educate teachers and students about neurodiversity and foster inclusion. She hopes that this campaign will set an example for schools and policymakers by showing them that “listening to the voices of young people can positively impact their mental health”, as well as encouraging them to see students as “more than just attendance figures”.
You can follow the Fix the System Not the Student campaign on Instagram
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