BrainWaves 2025 Cohort Study: Gain Actionable Wellbeing Insights

Want to understand your students’ wellbeing better? Partner with us in the BrainWaves 2025 Cohort Study and receive a free, personalised report with actionable insights for your school.

We’re inviting state, co-educational schools and colleges to become a BrainWaves Research Partner and participate in our November 2025 Cohort Study. By joining, you’ll earn BrainWaves accreditation through the University of Oxford and gain a personalised report on your 16+ students’ wellbeing trends. This report can help you design more specific and effective support programs.

Students will also benefit directly by earning a certificate showing their participation in a University of Oxford research study—an impressive addition to any UCAS application.

What does the study involve?

The BrainWaves Cohort Study is a straightforward online questionnaire for students aged 16 and over.

Who can participate? Ideally, we’d like your entire 16+ cohort to take part. However, we’re happy to discuss excluding a specific year group or cohort if needed.

What is the time commitment? There are two sessions, which can be completed in a single 60-minute sitting or split up:

• Session 1: A 20-minute introductory session for account registration.
• Session 2: A 40-minute questionnaire completion session.

What devices are needed? Both sessions require students to have a device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) with internet access.

When will the study run? The study takes place from November 3rd to 28th.

Where will students complete it? To ensure a controlled environment where students can be effectively safeguarded, students must complete the questionnaire while at school or college during a staff-supervised session.

Staff Preparation

We’ve made the training process as simple as possible.

For Study Leads: A 45-minute training session is required. We also recommend a member of your Senior Leadership Team attend if possible.

For Staff Facilitators: A 20-30 minute pre-recorded video will be provided to train the staff who will be supervising the questionnaire sessions. This training can be shown during a staff meeting or watched individually.

For IT Teams: A short, 2-minute video and a document with preparatory actions will be provided to ensure your school’s firewalls don’t block access to the questionnaire.

Ready to Get Involved?

To take part, email us at support@brainwaveshub.org by September 26th to request your initial study lead training session.

Please note: A personalised report will only be provided to schools with sufficient student participation (approximately 100+ students) to ensure individual students are not identifiable.

About the author

Abbie Simpkin is a School Research Liaison Manager at BrainWaves, responsible for supporting schools on the BrainWaves Research Programme.  She was previously a music teacher at Key Stage 3-5.