WELLBEING
Exploring stress and
anxiety associated
with exams
Marie-Sophie Reijers, French Language Assistant
Background
Last year I witnessed a pupil having a panic attack during
her GCSE exam and was shocked, it was the first time
I had observed this in an examination. At Sevenoaks,
we take the wellbeing of our pupils seriously and many
provisions are already in place. However, through talking
to colleagues, they agreed that bright, hard-working and
high-achieving pupils can still underperform in exams
due to exam nerves.
Supporting students with exam pressure has become
a government issue in recent years, with the Education,
Health and Social Care committee advising that
independent evidence is needed to establish the
impact of exam pressure on student mental health
(House of Commons Education, Health and Social Care
Committee, 2018). Putwain (2019) explains that feeling
exam stress is not the same as exam anxiety. He argues
that stress in not necessarily a bad thing for students.
Stress can be a motivator, as it makes students work
harder for exams (Macpherson, 2017). However, stress
can become negative when exam pressure becomes
overwhelming.
8
Research design
This project aimed to explore exam stress amongst
students, with particular focus on Year 11 mock
examinations. I sought to explore perceptions of exam
stress, strategies already in place to support students,
and to make recommendations to help students
cope better during exams. I combined qualitative and
quantitative methods, collecting data through
semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire.
Face to face interviews with staff (senior leaders,
teachers and support staff) and students (Years 7, 8, 9
and 11) allowed for in-depth conversation led by a small
number of questions.
Key findings
The questionnaire was administered to 150 Year 11
students. 57% (n=86) responded to the questionnaire.
The majority of students responding (93%, n=80) regard
the mocks as a useful tool to help them prepare for
the real thing. 45% (n=39) of students responding felt
prepared for the exams, although 80% (n=69) worried
about failing. Students felt they put the most pressure
on themselves to do well (85% n=73), although they
also felt pressure from the school (72% n=62) and less
so from parents (48% n=42).