Charlotte said her school, Albert Park College in inner Melbourne, was proactive too. "Positive education mentors" are designed to be the first point of call for students' concerns, and Charlotte said teachers ask students about their mental health "all the time".

A recent report on the mental health of Australian children and adolescents said schools "play a major role in supporting young people with emotional and behavioural problems and are often where symptoms of mental disorders are first identified".

Help at school included providing informal support, suggesting students seek external help,  offering individual and group counselling, providing special classes, school nurses and other programs, the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Report stated.

The report found that one in seven children aged 4 to 17 were assessed as having mental disorders in the previous 12 months - equivalent to 560,000 Australian children and adolescents.

The young respondents named bullying, substance abuse, problem eating behaviours, problematic internet use and/or electronic gaming as behaviours that "could put them at risk physically and/or mentally".

Mental disorders were more common in students living in families experiencing various forms of socio-economic disadvantage including low household income, parental unemployment and family break-up, the report said.

Education expert Peter Adams said Australia was becoming "increasingly aware of student mental health issues and is starting to respond more significantly and effectively. However, clearly we are not significantly improving the situation based on the data".

The ripple effect of suicide hits regional communities very hard.

Mr Adams, a former teacher who played a key role in setting up NAPLAN, said it was concerning there was no consensus on the best way to boost children's wellbeing and noted Australia ranked a worrying fifth out of 53 countries for the incidence of bullying.

Mr Adams recommended high-quality professional development for teachers to help them better deal with students' mental health issues and improved career information and advice in schools to boost students' sense of purpose.

Only one 12th of the health and physical education syllabus was aimed squarely at mental health, he said.

Jack Smith, an 18-year-old from Mildura, said mental health education in schools could be improved.

"Mental health is the most prevalent disease suffered by young people and I wonder if the lack of education plays a role in that," he said.

"The ripple effect of suicide hits regional communities very hard. More education about mental heath can provide young people with the knowledge to help their friends and community."

Melbourne Girls Grammar School year 11 student Charlotte Flood said learning to speak openly about mental health helped students deal with the anxiety associated with VCE.

At her school, students in some year levels have "wellbeing coaches" to check in on their school work and relationships and to liaise with teachers.

Loading

"When there's someone who cares about your general self, it's helpful, and just having someone to have a conversation with, whether it's about how you're feeling or what you've been doing," Charlotte said.

Charlotte also enjoyed free time at school for activities outside of the classroom, such as hula hooping. "Everyone gets almost obsessed with their studies that they don't want to do that, but I think having a period off, they realise they do feel better afterwards."

Implementing a whole school culture of wellness will be among topics discussed at The Age Schools Summit, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on October 9.