Vaping and bullying on the rise in Guernsey as youth survey published

Nearly 40% of young people said they had tried vaping. Credit: PA

The number of children who say they have been bullied in or near school has risen by 50% since 2019, according to a report analysing more than 1,400 young people in Guernsey in Years 6, 8 and 10.

The Guernsey Young People's Survey 2022 found that students in Year 8 are the worst affected by bullying, with two in five reporting that it has happened to them.

This number dropped to 14% among Year 10 girls - poorly comparing with previous years.

Other findings related to school include:

  • A downward trend in students who enjoy all or most of their lessons, decreasing from nearly 50% in 2010 to just under 40% in 2022.

  • Around two in five think their school cares whether they are happy - the number is lowest among Year 10 girls where only one in five agree.

  • One in two are proud of their school, down from two in three in 2016.

  • 40% of young people cycle or walk to school, up from 29% in 2016 - this number is highest amongst Year 6 students with one in two travel travelling that way.

The report has been published every three years since the early 1990s and asks more than 1,400 young people in Guernsey around 80 questions.

It is used by officials to better understand the views, attitudes and behaviours of children in the Bailiwick.

Smoking and vaping

The number who said they had tried a cigarette was 15%, but that figure rose to nearly 40% when students were asked about vaping.

When asked if they did it regularly, 12% of Year 10 boys said they did, compare to 20% of Year 10 girls.

Alcohol

The percentage of young people who admitted to drinking alcohol in the previous seven days has stayed between 11-14% since 2013.

However, the number who said they had drunk more than they intended has fallen from 37% in 2013 to 27% in 2022.

Cannabis

One in ten boys in Year 10 said they had tried cannabis, dropping to one in twenty when asked if they had done it in the last month.

One in five girls in Year 10 said they had tried it, but this falls to below 10% when about the last month.