An evaluation of the first year of the Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) in Schools programme found that students in all six schools visited by researchers said the stigma and taboo associated with mental health remained a barrier to speaking openly.
The Department of Health and Social Care-funded scheme aims to train a member of staff in every state secondary school in the country in mental health awareness by 2020.
Over the first year of the scheme, more than 1,200 staff completed a one-day course on how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental health issues in young people and how to support them.
The percentage of teachers reporting increased skills and knowledge of mental as a result of the training increased from 30 per cent before the course to 87 per cent three terms afterwards. But despite this, students said they still felt shy, awkward or feared being bullied.
One year 7 boy from a school in north east England said: "I don't think anybody wants others to know due to bullying so I want the school to be more aware of bullying and kids that are getting bullied."
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