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