This Is Why Lost Boys: Is demonising teenage boys part of the problem?
Feb 17, 2026
Jason Farrell, Sky News home affairs editor who documented a mentoring project, and Chris Edwards, a headteacher who set up a volunteer male mentoring scheme. They discuss boys falling behind at school and the rise in absent fatherhood. They explore how labeling boys harms them, community mentors stepping up, and social media and cultural influences on young men.
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Raphael's Missing Father Moment
- Raphael, whose father left when he was two, describes moments when he wished he'd had a dad to ask simple things.
- His experience motivated the school's mentoring approach to give boys the supportive adults they lack.
Reframing Boys' Potential
- Boys are falling behind girls across education and social metrics, and this gap has been normalised rather than challenged.
- Chris Edwards argues reframing boys as having potential, not as a menace, is crucial to changing outcomes.
Mobilise Local Male Mentors
- Build a volunteer mentor network from the local community to support boys outside school hours.
- Make the ask public and persistent; Brighton Hill filled the room when they actually held the event.