Staff and students at a secondary school have launched a club to offer youngsters a safe space to share their feelings.

‘The Listening Club’ is due to be rolled out next month at Chingford Foundation School in Nevin Drive and will see specially trained advisors patrolling playgrounds at lunchtime.

Teams will also run drop-in sessions three times a week and self-referral forms for mental health services will be handed out.

Twenty-five students were selected to be advisors, some of which were chosen for recognising their failings in the past and turning things around.

The Mayor of Waltham Forest Cllr Yemi Osho launched the club at the school on Thursday, alongside Sharon Goldstone, Safeguarding & Mental Health Officer.

One of the youngest ‘peer listeners’ Dhurmea Mayur, 12, said: “Before the project I was helped with my anxiety which I have now overcome so I decided I wanted to help others.

“We learned many new skills like that we were there to listen and question our peers, not to offer advice, and to keep it confidential but pass on if students of others were at risk.”

Members of the club will join the Mayor at Waltham Forest Town Hall on Saturday when she hosts the Marketplace of Opportunities event for youths.

The event will run from 1pm to 3pm and include free pizza. To register email mayor@walthamforest.gov.uk.