FindTutors, part of the GoStudent education group, is advising students to adopt five helpful habits to manage stress and protect their wellbeing throughout the 2025 exam period.
As thousands of young people in the UK prepare for the pressures of tests and coursework, growing numbers are finding the exam season overwhelming. Despite efforts to promote positive mental health through campaigns like April’s Stress Awareness Month, many still lack the tools to cope effectively.
A 2024 report by the Association of School and College Leaders revealed that over three-quarters of Year 11 teachers have seen students struggling with anxiety due to exam pressure. NHS data also shows a sharp increase in referrals for anxiety in children since the pandemic, underlining the scale of the issue.
In response, Tiara Junanto from FindTutors, a former teaching assistant, has outlined five core strategies to help students – and their parents – approach exams with greater calm and confidence.
“Preparing for and sitting exams can be incredibly stressful, and without the right tools or knowledge to deal with this, it can quickly spiral into more serious issues.
“The most important thing by far is sleep. We’ve all been there, working on a particularly tricky subject late in the day, and it is tempting to keep going at the expense of a good night’s sleep. This is almost always a mistake, with poor quality or insufficient sleep shown by multiple studies to reduce your attention span and how effective your brain is at understanding things. Aim to get at least 8 hours a night, even on busy days.
“Alongside this comes exercise and nutrition. Grabbing the microwave meal or skipping that run to do a few extra hours of revision sounds like a good idea, but if you have weeks or months to go until the end of exam season it will quickly catch up with you. Exercise can be a fantastic stress reliever and provides your brain with a much-needed break from studying.
“As exams get closer, try and share your feelings with other students or friends, discussing your experiences can help you feel more in control of situations and hearing that others are going through a similar time can be reassuring. But make sure it doesn’t just become a competition to see who is doing the most revision, which is never helpful. Also make sure that you get help from a professional, if you need.
“On the day of, or night before, exams, try and take some time to relax. Techniques such as deep breathing exercises or mindfulness can help you feel less stressed and if you’ve already put in the work, will be more beneficial than any last-minute cramming and certainly better than a night without sleep.
“Finally, don’t discuss the exam with your friends afterward. It is very tempting to try and compare answers to reassure yourself that you have done well, but this can be unhelpful for both you and your friends when you are powerless to do anything about the outcome. This is especially true if you still have more exams to come. Try to let it go and forget about it.”
