If there is a time of the year that is seen as stressful for every student, that time will be exam season. Anticipation of summer right around the corner, sunshine, beaches and getaways all at a back-burner due to planning essays, revision for classes, and study groups which fall underway. Every student know almost immediately how important exams are; especially when considering their future prospects. Whether it’s getting into secondary school, college, university, or trying to find a job, exam results matter. It causes a huge amount of stress and anxiety. Without knowing the signs of stress and anxiety, or being able to have coping systems in place to provide support, we cannot support Youth the way they need to be supported. The questions we should be asking ourselves is: What signs do we look for? How prevalent is exam stress? How can we minimize anxiety?

Students and young people are increasingly becoming more affected by mental health issues overall. There has been a 39% decrease in positive mental health among 6-16 year old. Between 2017 and 2021, the reality of poor mental health is growing more real, and more terrifying for young people. However, teachers and students have all said that no other time is more stressful, anxiety-inducing, and a greater effect on their mental health than exam season. Being tested on anything relating to academics, whether you know the subject extremely well, or you’ve only studied it once, is terrifying. Our heart races, our minds go blank, and we scramble our brains to think of the correct answer all before the exam ends. For students, this level of anxiety is multiplied as their results give a glimpse into a large part of their future. More companies and organisations in recent years care less about traditional grades and degrees. However, more are opening themselves to the view that, as an expectation, their grades are a determinant for their futures rather than an addition. The expectations for students, especially GCSE students, are higher, and our society is more academically focused than ever.

Exam pressure is different for each student. For some, it triggers their sense of perfectionism. For others, it’s a fear of failure. For a large majority, the results achieved from their exams directly affect their future endeavors from college to university, or to job offers. Some have prior negative experiences with exams, and so the fear rolls around again with greater depth. Some students have reputations of getting a certain grade so they may feel pressured to keep the streak going. To maintain a grade point average that is reflective of their potential; their self-esteem, and internal pressures caused by external expectations. The anxiety that runs through many of these reasons, however, is distressing, heavy, and impactful. It can cause many issues- both emotional and physical. The signs of exam stress varies from mood swings, eating disorders, lack of sleep, to having trouble making decisions, becoming overly self critical, overworking or studying more than needed, academic burnout and even self-destructive behaviours. Exam stress can be so heavy that it will cause a young person to mentally break under the weight of it all if there is no accessibility to networks of help. 

So, what are some tips that young people can use to ease their exam stress? 

• Retrospective planning and the use of past papers, mark scheme, examiner’s reports to solidify the knowledge in addition to making it applicable when placed in the exam environment.

• Know that communication is made available- with teachers, parents, guardians, and friends. They are your support network and they care for you.

Here are some tips we can share:

For more information, please visit: www.thesafetybox.org