All the Russell Group unis that acknowledged Mental Health Week – and the ones which didn’t

Last week, Mental Health Awareness Week took place across the country from Monday May 12th to Sunday May 18th..

Set up by the Mental Health Foundation, it was created in 2001 to raise awareness and reduce stigma to encourage conversation on mental health.

The awareness week occurs yearly in May, with 2025 marking its 25th year in practice. Each year, the foundation chooses a different theme with this year’s being “community”.

Whilst this week is to promote positive practice on everyone’s mental health, shocking figures show the severity of the crisis for students in particular.

Taking this into account, it would seem reasonable to think universities and student groups would go above and beyond to support their student body during this week of awareness – so, here’s a breakdown of what each university has been doing this week to support student mental health.

1. Kings College London, UCL and LSE

London’s various universities have shown support to their students in different ways. LSE posted a news article to its website which shows various events that are happening for students to partake in. These include sport events, coffee catch ups, and city walks to encourage conversations on mental health.

KCL shared a post to its Instagram also promoting the awareness week, focusing on green community spaces as a welcoming area for staff and students to have mental health conversations.

UCL also posted to its website highlighting activities for the week including yoga, drawing workshops and wellbeing, meditative experiences.

2. University of Exeter

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The University of Exeter organised “Walk and Talk for Mental Health”, a professionally guided walk for all staff, students and alumni to walk 10 miles across Exeter to raise money and awareness. This took place on Saturday 16th May, with tickets costing £10 and money being donated to Children and Young People’s Mental Health (ChYMe).

Exeter Guild also shared a series of tips on maintaining good mental health during exam season.

3. University of Bournemouth

Bournemouth University has also created a list of help services for its students and created events throughout the Mental Health Awareness Week. Its events and support page can be found here.

4. University of Warwick

Similarly to Exeter, Warwick Uni is hosting #GetWarwickTalking, to enhance mental health awareness on campus. On its website, students were able to upload their own stories of navigating through their own mental health journeys, so others could feel confident to speak openly about their experiences.

5. University of York

York hosted a university mental health day with loads of different events, including Dog and Donuts, a dog petting session, and a drumming to de-stress activity.

6. Durham University

Although the university itself didn’t publicly post about Mental Health Awareness Week, Durham University student support services announced it would be celebrating the week, holding a stand in the Bill Bryson Library. There it provided student support and wellbeing resources.

7. University of Sheffield

Sheffield University Health Service posted about Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, explaining how the week encourages students to celebrate community and how it supports our mental health and wellbeing.

8. Newcastle University

Exam periods can be stressful, so it's important to take care of your mental health.

We have a range of different wellbeing services available for our students, including counselling, wellbeing workshops and more.

Get further info here. ⬇https://t.co/BlYgvkMY1E#WeAreNCL pic.twitter.com/leaXLQMp5v

— Newcastle University (@UniofNewcastle) May 12, 2025

Newcastle Uni posted about its wellbeing services in relation to exam stress, sharing how students can access counselling and workshops during periods of stress. The university also celebrated Uni Mental Health Day 2025 back in March with a series of wellbeing pop ups across campus.

9. University of Birmingham

The Uni of Birmingham hosted a range of events, including a webinar on mental health and stereotypes, a financial wellbeing masterclasses and contemplation sessions.

A number of staff members wore green throughout the week in a nod to Mental Health Awareness Week and Old Joe’s clock face was even turned green to mark the occasion.

The uni also advertised its Time to Talk? campaign across social media and advertised where students can access support across a range of Instagram Stories throughout the week.

10. Cardiff University

Cardiff Uni provided numerous resources during Mental Health Awareness Week, including sharing story from Wellbeing Champion Anais, which encouraged students to open up about their struggles.

11. University of Cambridge

Cambridge shared resources for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, including a programme of workshops and activities.

Scheduled activities included using LEGO to exploring the five ways to wellbeing, as well as a mix of online and in person sessions.

12. University of Exeter

University of Exeter Library outlined areas and resources for student support, especially during exam season. It also flagged University of Exeter Wellbeing, a suite of resources including books, audio, apps and self help workbooks.

13. University of Glasgow

Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council acknowledged Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 in an Instagram post. It detailed how it can be harder to look after mental wellbeing when experiencing exam stress, but that student support officers were there to help, sharing a series of tips on the Story on managing stressful times.

14. University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh Uni outlined the importance of good mental health, including how “connecting with others is vital for our mental health and wellbeing”. In a post, the uni told students it was there to support them, with specially trained students and staff at hand to provide guidance.

15. University of Oxford

Sharing its resources for students, the University of Oxford commemorated the event with loads of details and resources for students to access if struggling with mental health.

What universities haven’t acknowledged the event?

Whilst many universities across the country organised various events and wellbeing support, some did not acknowledge this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week.

Despite hosting events throughout previous years, the University of Leeds did not promote or advertise any events during Mental Health Awareness Week 2025.

The University of Nottingham did not

However, to keep up to date with local activities, the hashtag #UniMentalHealthDay has been used on social media to stay updated on whats happening on campuses across the UK. All universities also have a wellbeing support page and contact details of some sort, for anyone wanting to access help and guidance.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and need immediate support, the following services are available.  

SHOUT is the UK’s free, confidential, 24/7 mental health based text service. To start a conversation, text SHOUT to 85258.

Samaritans offers a free, confidential, 24/7 listening service for anyone in emotional distress. Call 116 123 at any time or visit their website for more information.

Mind provides advice and support to anyone experiencing a mental health problem. Call their info line on 0300 123 3393 or text 86463. More details are available here.

Papyrus HOPELINE247 is a confidential support service for young people (under 35) who are experiencing thoughts of suicide, or for anyone concerned about a young person. Call 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967, or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) supports men and anyone identifying as male who are struggling with life. Call 0800 58 58 58 from 5pm to midnight or use their webchat service here.