Physical Resilience
Physical Resilience — Curated with Harry Kane A healthy body and a healthy mind aren't separate things. They're the same thing. This unique curriculum brings Bounce Forward's resilience framework together with the real-world perspective of an elite athlete. Harry Kane's personal experiences feature throughout — making the link between physical habits and mental wellbeing immediate, credible and relevant. Five lessons explore how exercise, nutrition and sleep directly affect mood, concentration and resilience. The curriculum takes the skills pupils have been building and roots them in the physical — because what you eat, how you move, and how you sleep shapes how you think, feel and cope. Year 9 is high pressure. Exams loom, identities are forming, and mental health challenges are rising. Physical Resilience gives young people an honest, inspiring reason to take their wellbeing seriously — not just for performance, but for life. Part of the Bounce Forward Healthy Minds suite — evidence-based, developmental, and built for real life.
Lessons
5 lessons in this module.
Physical Resilience - Exercise and Mental Health
This opening lesson of the Physical Resilience module developed with the Harry Kane Foundation. The resource explores the direct link between physical exercise and mental health. Students revisit the resilience skills from Year 7 (positive emotion, ABC, Gremlin Beliefs) and apply them specifically to their beliefs about physical activity. The lesson uses Harry Kane as a relatable ambassador and challenges students to identify and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns about exercise.
Physical Resilience: Nutrition and Mental Health
This lesson explores the growing evidence base for the link between what we eat and our mental health. Students learn about the gut-brain axis, the role of different food groups, and the barriers that prevent young people from eating well. Using Harry Kane as a relatable case study, they examine how nutrition choices directly impact physical and mental performance, then create a collaborative Mental Strength Nutrition Charter.
Physical Resilience: Sleep and the Adolescent Brain
This lesson explores why sleep is essential for adolescent mental and physical health. Students learn about the science of sleep — including the circadian rhythm, melatonin, Non-REM and REM sleep stages — and hear from both Harry Kane and Dr John Coleman (clinical psychologist and adolescence expert) on why sleep matters. The lesson culminates in students reflecting honestly on their own sleep routines and beginning a sleep diary.
Physical Resilience: Facts and Common Beliefs About Sleep
Building directly on Lesson 3, this lesson goes deeper into the science of teen sleep, the real impact of sleep deprivation, and — crucially — the common unhelpful beliefs that prevent young people from prioritising sleep. Students watch a second Dr John Coleman video, generate a class list of sleep myths, then use the reframing technique (linking back to Gremlin Beliefs and flexible thinking from Year 7) to challenge and replace those beliefs with more accurate alternatives.
Physical Resilience: Sleep Routines
The final lesson of the Physical Resilience module moves from understanding sleep science to taking practical action. Students watch Dr John Coleman's third video on sleep routines and how to overcome the melatonin effect, build a class list of healthy sleep routines, and create their own personalised sleep diary. The session closes with a final word from Harry Kane and a signpost to the National Sleep Helpline.