Robert Gordon’s College, Albyn School, International School Aberdeen (ISA) and St Margaret’s School for Girls have teamed up to collaborate to deliver a series of free online seminars focused on mental health and wellbeing. 

The virtual “Wellbeing in Difficult Times” series is the first of its kind in the city and will see the four independent schools - collectively known as Aberdeen Independent Schools (AIS) - come together to deliver four online seminars featuring expert speakers.

ISA hosts the first seminar and takes place on Thursday 18 February at 7.30pm with the theme “The ‘Power of Mind’ to Enhance Your Mental & Physical Wellbeing”. Dr Bruce Lawrie, Consultant Psychologist, will speak at the seminar which will focus on the importance of physical activity for mental health and wellbeing.

On Tuesday 2 March, Robert Gordon’s College host the “COVID Impact and Opportunity” seminar and welcomes guest speakers Jane Lunnon, Head of Alleyn’s School in London and Tatler Public Headteacher of the Year in 2020 and is joined by Lena Carter, Deputy Headteacher at Lochgilphead High School. Former police officer Graham Goulden also adds to the speaker lineup to share his experiences working on violence prevention and providing effective role modelling for young people.

Robin Macpherson, Head of College shared: “One of the benefits of independent education is that we have greater autonomy to be innovative and shake things up. I’m delighted to be working on this series with my fellow headteachers and we really want to create an exciting space for public debate. 

“We are living through a paradigm shift that has come at immense cost, but also promises a brave new dawn if we think courageously. I am hugely excited to be hosting a panel debate on March 2nd with three of the UK’s leading voices in education. Lena, Graham and Jane have extensive multi-agency experience of working with young people and have significantly influenced public debate on education at a national level. We will be assessing the impact that COVID has had on the wellbeing of young people as well as exploring the exciting opportunities we can create for them as we come out of the curve.” 

Dr Tharaka Gunarathne, known as “Dr T”, speaks at the third seminar hosted by St Margaret’s School for Girls on Wednesday 17 March, in a webinar entitled “Look after your SWANS: Dr T’s 5 Key Areas to Better Resilience.” Albyn School will host the last seminar in the series on Tuesday 30 March, and welcome Astrid Whyte, CEO, Mental Health Aberdeen, who will discuss the important topic of “Family Wellbeing”.

The seminars are free to attend and open to all with places being booked through EventBrite. Register online:

• Eventbrite: Aberdeen Independent Schools Wellbeing Series