Britain's first university well-being tsar hands out 'happy badges' to students

Students feeling anxious in the approach to exam season will be given "happy badges" by Britain's first university "happiness tsar".

The University of Buckingham said the system will be led by Cherry Coombe, whose role is to “help improve the working and learning environment” by promoting mental well-being.

The badges, which look like traditional prefect badges but have the word "happiness" written in gold, have so far been awarded to students who took part in a local parade through Buckingham and to staff whose actions “improved the work environment”.

The parade float, put together by students, was themed on the BBC drama Doctor Foster, and saw students dress in scrubs. Ms Coombe said that the badges were awarded to students to “formalise the notion of being successful as a resilient person”.

“We validate academic success,” she told The Telegraph. “But we very rarely like to acknowledge optimism and resilience. My aim is that absolutely everyone in the university has a happiness badge.”

As part of its effort to be the UK’s first "positive university", Buckingham has also bought two black cockapoos for students to stroke, which is said to relieve stress. The dogs are available for students to walk in the event of overwhelming exam pressure.

Ms Coombe, who also lectures in creative writing, said: “We’re focused on general well-being and on staying healthy, and on not falling over the waterfall.

“There are plenty of services that help you when you’re at the bottom of the waterfall. The idea is to stay buoyant and keep surfing the wave.”

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