Many of us will have heard of Blue Monday – the third Monday in January, often described as the most depressing day of the year. The idea is that the post-Christmas comedown, dark and cold days, and fading New Year’s resolutions combine to create a perfect storm of low mood.

In truth, Blue Monday has no scientific basis. It originated as a marketing campaign by a travel company hoping to sell holidays at a quieter time of year. And yet, despite its dubious origins, it resonates with many people. There is something very real about this point in the year: the excitement of the holidays has passed, routines have resumed, and summer can feel a very long way off.

This sense of mid-winter flatness reminded me of research I read earlier this academic year on what is being called a “hack to happiness”. Over a six-year period, psychologist Anthony Burrow and his team at Cornell University explored how young people develop positive wellbeing and a sense of purpose. In his study, students were given $400 to spend on whatever they wanted, something that felt important to them. The vast majority of them spent it on something that helped others. The projects they chose were wide-ranging – creating online mental health resources, donating books, planting trees, or paying for laundry for members of their local community.

The results were striking. Students who worked on a purposeful project showed significantly higher levels of wellbeing, a stronger sense of purpose and belonging, and a greater feeling of being needed and useful. They also reported a healthier balance between positive and negative emotions. Crucially, they were happier than peers who had not taken part in a similar project.

This research underpins why this is such an important time of year for our Year 10 Giving Forward project and the launch of the Year 12 Campaign Challenge. These initiatives are not simply “nice extras”; they are carefully designed opportunities for students to engage deeply with something that matters to them and to see that they can make a genuine difference.

So if your daughter is feeling a little low at this point in the year, I am not suggesting you hand her £400. But you might gently encourage her to lean into the many opportunities available at BGS to contribute to something beyond herself – whether through our Year 10 or Lower Sixth programmes, student council, focus groups, peer support, or wider community involvement. Purpose, even in small doses, can be a powerful antidote to low mood.

We consistently encourage our students to find their purpose, and it truly does not matter what that purpose is. What matters is having one. Young people who do tend to experience greater confidence, higher self-esteem, a stronger sense of meaning, and more positive emotional wellbeing. As Maya Angelou said: “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver” and at this time of year especially, that is a lesson worth holding onto.