Managing Exam Stress With Mindfulness

The E Word… Exams.

The exam season is nearly upon us. Whether you cruise them or struggle with them, exam stress affects us all in different ways. Last year, The Guardian reported that the new GCSEs were affecting some students’ mental health.

So what can we do? Firstly, as with pressures of any kind, coping mechanisms can be hugely beneficial in dealing with exam stress. Breathing, visualisations and mindfulness techniques can all be used by students to help cope with pressure.

Just as important as equipping children with these skills, is opening up a conversation around exam stress. It is important for pupils to know that any anxious feelings they have are valid, not shameful. They can always ask for help from an adult they trust. Talking about mental health can seem scary. But building a positive, open environment in which children feel able to share their feelings is so valuable.

This is why we are so passionate about opening a conversation about Mindfulness in schools. What’s more, we’ve made a special Exam Stress workshop adaptation. This offering uses discussion-based games and activities to explore feelings of anxiety around exam week. It’s packed with useful tips and tricks to help pupils’ manage exam stress both at school, and at home.

The exam stress workshop is ideal for Year 6 groups, all the way through secondary school. We can adapt our Mindfulness workshops to all age groups from KS1-4! If you’d like to know more about any of our offerings, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and a member of our team will be happy to help you.

Wishing you health and happiness for the upcoming exam season.

Love, One Day Creative team x