The school term is well under way now, with shiny new shoes slightly scuffed and buses once again full of chattering voices.

But for too many young people this time of year is packed with anxiety about what school means for them.

We know that mental health issues are soaring in teenagers and with that a rise in absenteeism from classrooms. The Government is so worried about these numbers it has urged young people who have lost confidence in school to come back.

These issues are compounding a ‘disadvantage gap’ for some students. While GCSE attainment has been increasing over time, 16-year-olds who are eligible for free school meals are still around 27 percentage points less likely to earn good grades than less disadvantaged peers, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

As a secondary school teacher and youth worker I can see a big part of the answer lies outside of school, where the youth sector can help close that gap for disadvantaged young people and address some of the issues that are keeping children out of class.

While schools are doing their best to retain pupils, they just don’t have the capacity for one to one support. If we provide well-equipped spaces, run by trained and trusted adults where young people feel safe, they can focus on learning in an environment they feel is warm and welcoming.

I teach English in a mainstream school where there are large classes and SEN students are integrated.

That doesn’t suit everyone. Many children struggle to put their hands up and ask questions about things they don’t understand because they lack confidence.

If they can’t keep up, they lose focus which can lead to exclusion from lessons or school, they miss out on teaching and then feel they can’t catch up. The pattern repeats and unless those children are given concentrated help, we are at risk of losing a generation of potential talent.

After school and in holidays I run the Library Club at Legacy Youth Zone, in Croydon, South London, one of 14 state-of-the-art youth centres run by the OnSide national youth charity.

OnSide sees 50,000 young people through its doors every year. Many of the year 10s and 11s, who are working towards exams don’t have a quiet, calm space at home that makes for successful revision. We know many families don’t have digital access either, which makes online homework difficult.

In the more informal and relaxed atmosphere of a Youth Zone, young people can come in, see their friends, relax, use the gym or make tracks in the music room and then do some homework in the quiet of the library with me there to guide them..

It’s similar to a school environment here, t’s professionally run and well known in the community, but the children have great fun here and the youth workers believe in every child’s potential.

I have no more than six young people in my homework club at any one time and I break down the sessions. Students who suffer from anxiety might need an even smaller group of four or less. We arrange the study around them.

I ask what they’re having trouble with and we focus on those key areas.

We are seeing more and more young people with mental health issues. Just being in school can be traumatic for them, and that spirals into reduced learning and a fear of exams.

One young person had moved school six times since she was 13 because of behaviour problems and mental health issues. She’d missed a lot of learning.

Through no fault of her own she’d had a chaotic childhood and had lost trust in adults. Nine times out of ten she would feel teachers were being disrespectful to her, she would react badly and then be thrown out of class. She spent most of time excluded or in supervision.

By year 10 she couldn’t see the point in GCSEs because she could not envisage a future for herself.

When she came into Legacy we arranged a referral to CAMHs, counselling and she received mentoring from a specific youth worker. That relationship meant she had a trusted adult in a safe space and could start to talk about her anxiety and other issues.

Over time she began to feel more confident and to believe in herself. A lightbulb went on in her mind that she needed qualifications. She chose subjects she could manage, English, maths and art.

In February, four months before her first exam, she knocked on my door and said: “I need help.”

I will never forget that afternoon because for someone whose life has been such a difficult journey, that was a brave thing to do.

She felt she was really struggling with English. We chatted about which areas were difficult for her and worked on those.

After spending time with this young woman I was so impressed by her. She has come such a long way. She is really good at piecing a story together and at English comprehension, her art pieces are great too.

She told us that without the support from the youth workers she would not have turned up for those GCSEs, and whatever her results, she is pleased that she tried.

She now wants to become a mental health youth worker and I believe she can achieve that. We are working with her to plan what further education will suit her.

There are so many young people’s stories like this across the network. If Government, businesses and individuals invest in a robust youth sector we can work with schools to nurture the thousands of children who would otherwise be written off.