The 10^th of October 2016 was World Mental Health Day. To coincide with the occasion, the BBC published a precis of the recent national well-being assessment. The upshot (individuals' economic outlook has improved, while fewer feel that they belong to their neighbourhood) seems almost trivial when set against the iconoclastic foreground of the commentary: school league tables should publish students' well-being alongside exam results.

Few subjects provoke like mental health. It is the unseen illness endured by many who suffer in silent silos. One voice – that of Sir Anthony Seldon, vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham and a former head teacher and mental health activist – rightly questions the mental health 'crisis' infecting our young people and the Government's insouciant response. Sir Anthony's proselytising proposal is to rank schools by student well-being.

Notwithstanding the implications of cognisant parents unwittingly creating well-being 'ghettos', there are a gamut of repercussive issues. For example, the nascent 'Progress 8' performance measure has changed the landscape of educational choice for students. TES, the largest network of teachers in the world, note the 'nervousness' of some head teachers about their school's performance on the measure.

The result? Schools are requesting that students take more 'academic' English Baccalaureate subjects. The so-called 'creative subjects' – art, music and physical education included - are at risk of being ushered out of the door as schools urge students to double up on academic GCSEs.

But what of the consequences for the 70% of young people who experience mental health problems and do not receive timely appropriate intervention? Also, if such measures were to proceed, how could those in charge of students' well-being demonstrate a commitment to positive change? Without doubt these questions chime with the fetishism toward building 'character and resilience' in our young people. There is no silver bullet to this argument; however, there is something that can be leveraged better: the 'power of sport'.

Mental health in sport may seem modish, but with hindsight, has bedevilled numerous stories of promising careers curtailed by parlous behaviour. My father recalls the halcyon days of football in the 70s, replete with idols such as George Best. What we know now forever embellishes these jackanapes: how many utilised hedonism as a mask for their underlying mental turmoil?

Only recently the heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury took the step of making public his battles with mental health issues. His reward was opprobrium from many corners; he will also lose his championship titles for dodging a recent contest, citing his 'demons' for his reticence to fight.

What is less publicised is the anecdotes made flesh – and there are many - of sport providing salvation. Many of these stories exist outside of the mainstream media cadre. They are instead in our communities and schools. While our sector is still learning to articulate the hard facts about the positive impact of sport the evidence is irrevocable: sport is a powerful tool in the mental health battle.

In my work I encounter numerous incidences of sport's agency: there was the story of one student who suffered crippling loneliness and isolation upon transitioning to secondary school. The PE teacher saw promise during one lesson and encouraged him to join the school's basketball club; he quickly made friends and found a reason to come to school each morning.

In this case the student's self-esteem was buffered by their sense of belonging to something: a sports team; their state of purdah (and potential long-term stigmatisation) was stymied by the anxiolytic impact of communitarian sport.

If we are to follow Sir Anthony Seldon's exhortation and name schools where students suffer poor mental health then we must be prepared to act quickly to improve students' well-being. There are many ways to do this but most are costly or highly politicised - and thus likely to be kicked to and fro between protean parties or demagogues with a popularity agenda.

Curricular school sport looks to have been relegated to the substitute bench under the new school performance measures. My suggestion would be to provide a robust menu of extra-curricular sporting activities, delivered by coaches and practitioners able to inspire potentially at-risk young people to make life-changing decisions using sport. The alternative is to rely on schools to advocate 'non-academic' subjects that are unlikely to propel them upward in the Progress 8 league table.

Brendan King is Impact and Evaluation Manager at Greenhouse Sports