Exam Stress

Well…. I’m no expert, I can only tell you what I’ve told my son (and he got 10 grade 9s at GCSE)

You’re suffering stress because you give yourself stress…l because if your parents and families expectations as well as your own

Your family shouldn’t be putting you under this level of pressure

I told my son that I loved him, no matter what. I’m proud that he has tried at school and wants to learn. The exam results are great for me to show off but what I take pride in is him and his attitude.

I told him, it doesn’t matter if he is unlucky on the day and doesn’t get the highest grades. Fir GCSE he has done around 13 years of schooling (3yrs old to 16 yrs old) which is a lot of effort to put in. If he looks back, has he generally tried his best? And that’s all anyone can ask.

I want him to soar high like an eagle…… but I am there as a safety net and will always be there for him, no matter what.

The above helps remove most of the stress

Another bunch of stress was removed by teaching him exam technique (which his school didn’t do)

So, don’t rush to answer the question, read the whole paper first. Tell your brain to think about the more difficult questions in the background while you answer the easier ones (it works, honest)

Break down the time for each question. Make sure you are keeping to time and if a question holds you back, move on.

Do read through and check your answers etc etc etc

To remove another bunch of stress, we did past papers and marked against the mark stream. If you are scoring 90-95% on past papers, why are you stressing about the real exam?

In short, it’s a multi layered approach but the big thing is your family should tell you that they love you and will be there for you whatever results you get (and, hey, there ain’t nothing wrong with an 8, it’s better than most people get)

I not sure if this helps you but that’s what we did and, given the work he has put in, the mocks he has done, the “no one expects perfection” and the safety net we provide, he really doesn’t need to stress too much

Hopefully this helps you to put exam results and the effort you have put in to better perspective

I would strongly encourage you to not do this because of the reputation it gives you, but because of the passion and desire for learning you hopefully have. I used to get really stressed too, but I used to think of it as excitement rather than nervousness because you will genuinely feel more positive about the whole experience. So while you're walking in that exam hall, or before, just say to yourself stuff like "I'm so excited to try my hardest" or "I'm so excited to show myself everything I'm capable of". It's a bit weird if you do it out loud but just say it in your head and try to envision that positive feeling it gives you.
Another tip is to do all of the questions you find easy, first. I used to do that in maths especially because it gave me this boost of confidence and I really needed that for those harder questions. It really helped me.
And yet another thing is to find out what works for you in terms of each different subject. For example, my maths tactic didn't work for me in English Lit and vice versa. So mess around with techniques and find out what works for you.
If you're really struggling, ask for help. I'm sure you have many qualified teachers, or even that one teacher you can talk to like a friend about what's going on. Sometimes you also just need somebody to listen to you, so don't be afraid to wave the white flag every once in a while because we're only human. And I promise you there's so many other students just like you that go through the same exact thing, all you have to do is reach out. You're doing amazing for asking for help so far though! And don't worry, you're gonna smash those exams if you're already predicted 8/9s. Just keep doing what you're already doing- with less of the stressing of course ahaha.

Well…. I’m no expert, I can only tell you what I’ve told my son (and he got 10 grade 9s at GCSE)

You’re suffering stress because you give yourself stress…l because if your parents and families expectations as well as your own

Your family shouldn’t be putting you under this level of pressure

I told my son that I loved him, no matter what. I’m proud that he has tried at school and wants to learn. The exam results are great for me to show off but what I take pride in is him and his attitude.

I told him, it doesn’t matter if he is unlucky on the day and doesn’t get the highest grades. Fir GCSE he has done around 13 years of schooling (3yrs old to 16 yrs old) which is a lot of effort to put in. If he looks back, has he generally tried his best? And that’s all anyone can ask.

I want him to soar high like an eagle…… but I am there as a safety net and will always be there for him, no matter what.

The above helps remove most of the stress

Another bunch of stress was removed by teaching him exam technique (which his school didn’t do)

So, don’t rush to answer the question, read the whole paper first. Tell your brain to think about the more difficult questions in the background while you answer the easier ones (it works, honest)

Break down the time for each question. Make sure you are keeping to time and if a question holds you back, move on.

Do read through and check your answers etc etc etc

To remove another bunch of stress, we did past papers and marked against the mark stream. If you are scoring 90-95% on past papers, why are you stressing about the real exam?

In short, it’s a multi layered approach but the big thing is your family should tell you that they love you and will be there for you whatever results you get (and, hey, there ain’t nothing wrong with an 8, it’s better than most people get)

I not sure if this helps you but that’s what we did and, given the work he has put in, the mocks he has done, the “no one expects perfection” and the safety net we provide, he really doesn’t need to stress too much

Hopefully this helps you to put exam results and the effort you have put in to better perspective

I'm going into yr11 in September and im predicted all 8/9 for Gcse, but i stress alot and have had frequent mental breakdowns and panic attacks during school in exam season (the worst being my Mock exams which i have just done) as i get really stressed about it. I was wondering if anyone had any tips as i feel like every time exams come around it gets worse and i want to keep this high standard everyone at school and family as well as myself has set for me. So i was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks. tysm

No worries

So, tell me this.

You opened the results and were they good / what you expected or were they bad?

I’m betting they were good, right? I bet if you are predicted a string of 9s, that’s because you are a straight A student and always do well?

So, if I’m right, ask yourself this. “When all the evidence is that you consistently do well, why do you work yourself into a state with an expectation that you will do bad”?

Can you see the point I am trying to make? Your expectations don’t match your prior experience.

So, you then need to ask yourself why you have such low self esteem / such low expectations when the reality is that you are amazing

If you can answer that and truly accept that you are who you are then you will have less anxiety about results (or the paper) as your experience tells you that, with the work and preparation you have put in, it will be OK. You might find some bits challenging and some bits may take longer and there may even be some bits that you can’t do (perhaps because the teachers forgot to teach you that part of the course). But, if all the evidence is that you usually do well then you should simply keep up your work rate and accept (and expect) that you will be scoring 8s or 9s.

And, if you don’t get that score (and there’s no point worrying about it until you know the results) then that’s fine. It’s not the end of the world. You can ask for it to be remarked. You can resit. And, if it’s not a subject that you want to study at A level then does it really matter?

So, when you feel stressed, sit down, close your eyes, practice 7-11 breathing and tap both legs with your hands at the same time

7-11 breathing…. Breath in for a count of 7 and out for a count of 11. This helps cal:you down and reduces stress.

Tapping both thighs activates both sides of your brain allowing you to think more rationally

Closing your eyes shuts out distractions while you do this

Sitting down stops you falling over while you have your eyes shut and are hitting yourself 😂

Do this often enough and it’s like pavlovas dogs….. simply by tapping your legs your stress starts to reduce

Anyway, it’s just a stress relief tip for when you’re in the moment. There are others too but tis is very simple to do

Thank you so much, just thinking about my revision these 6weeks for my exams in September is like stressful. I have alot going on at home as well as school, so sometimes it's abit of everything especially when exams come around. For me personally, i'm not worried about sitting in the hall and all the precautions alike other people, its 2 things. I hate the feeling of opening the exam paper and the fear that everything i have studied and revised wont be on the exam or that i will forget the content mid way through the exam. The worst bit for me is the Results. I got my results last lesson on the Friday, a week before we broke up so i want to say the 14th and i had French before and i felt ill like i was going to be sick all over the classroom, but anyways we go into the hall and i get my envelope and me and my friend sat at the back as we were one of the last ones in. We get this speech thing and then we get told we can open the envelopes and i had to wait 5 mins before i could look at mine because i was absolutely petrified about these stupid mock exam results and i look at my grade and predictions and i just remember putting it back in the envelope and going to get a drink. I come back up and my Geography teacher stops me and he walks up to my seat to speak to me and i just remember i started crying my eyes out because i was stressing about like what if i dont get these results next year and yeah i always have this thing in my head where that like if i dont do so well in an exam (and i mean like i even think a grade 7 is bad) that itll be the end of the world and that. It's just a lot you know? Sorry im talking alot it's nice to talk to someone about it you know so thanks.