Support with Exam Anxiety

What is Exam Anxiety?

Exam anxiety is an intense feeling of stress or pressure related to taking exams. Children and young people who are experiencing exam anxiety may exhibit some of the following symptoms: 

Exam anxiety is common and a normal response to the stress of exams but too much anxiety can impact the ability of children and young people to learn and retain information, and interfere with studying and revision.  

Source: https://www.psychologytools.com/self-help/anxiety

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Why do we experience Exam Anxiety?

Some common reasons why children and young people might feel exam anxiety include:

• Fear of Failure: This may stem from high expectations, negative past experiences and/or concerns about the consequences of failing that lead to intense pressure to perform well. 

• Not Feeling Prepared: This could be due to poor time management or ineffective study or revision techniques. 

• High Stakes: Important exams such GCSEs and A-Levels can increase anxiety due to their significant impact (e.g. not getting the entry requirements for a specific course). 

•  Lack of Confidence: This could include negative perceptions and self-doubt about their abilities and negative self-talk (e.g. “I’m going to fail.”)

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How can we support Exam Anxiety?

Children and young people can find exams a lot to cope with, but there are ways that we can support them to improve their wellbeing during this time.

1. Foster a Supportive Environment: Create a classroom environment that encourages open discussion about exam anxiety and stress. Through this open discussion children or young people will feel able to seek help if needed and supported.

2. Encourage Positive Self-Talk:  Help students identify and challenge negative thoughts about their abilities and the exam outcome. Encourage them to rethink these negative thoughts these with positive affirmations and rational thoughts. This is known as ‘reframing’ thoughts. Examples of reframing thoughts include:

“I’m so anxious in exams, my mind always goes blank” can be reframed to “I am confident that I can manage any difficulties that might occur during the exam”

“If I don’t get the highest grade on this exam I’m a failure” can be reframed to “The result of this exam does not define my abilities or worth”

3. Listen and Normalise anxiety:  Listen to the child or young person about their concerns to validate their emotions. Reassure them that feeling anxious because of exams is common and can be a normal response to stress. This reassurance can help reduce feelings of isolation in someone experiencing anxiety.

4. Promote Healthy Habits: Educate the importance of regular sleep, healthy eating, and physical activity during revision and exam seasons. These factors can significantly impact children and young people’s ability to manage stress, improve general wellbeing and perform at their best during exams.

5. Model Calm Behaviour: As adults we can demonstrate calm and confident behaviour towards exams. The child or young person’s perceptions of a situation can be influenced by your attitudes and reactions therefore having a positive impact on how they view exams. Use positive language such as, “You have worked hard and are more than ready to take this exam”.

6. Promote Relaxation and Mindfulness Techniques: In order to help students manage their physical responses to anxiety, you can teach them: 

• Deep breathing exercises such as 4-7-8 or ‘box’ breathing 
• Progressive muscle relaxation or body scanning techniques 
• Mindfulness exercises to be ‘in the moment’ such as the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise
• Journalling to help them process their thoughts and worries

7. Manage Procrastination and Avoidance Behaviours. Exam anxiety often drives procrastination as a temporary relief but ends up promoting greater anxiety. Strategies such as breaking down revision into manageable chunks, prioritising tasks, encouraging progress checking and celebrating small successes can help.