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Five-session mentoring course

Exam and academic pressure

Who it's for

Consider this course for a pupil showing:

  • Physical symptoms before tests or assessments (stomach aches, headaches, nausea)
  • Avoidance of revision through procrastination, or the opposite, rigid, exhausting over-revision
  • Catastrophic thinking about results ('if I fail this, my whole future is ruined')
  • Withdrawal from friends and activities in the run-up to exams
  • Sleep disruption or visible exhaustion during assessment periods

What it works towards

  • Understand the stress response and why exam pressure feels the way it does in the body
  • Identify and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns about exams and results
  • Build a realistic, sustainable revision routine
  • Develop practical coping strategies for use on the day of an assessment
  • Create a personal plan balancing academic effort with rest and wellbeing

The five sessions

  1. Session 1 Understanding exam stress Pupil can describe how the stress response affects the pupil's body and mind around exams.
  2. Session 2 Unhelpful thoughts Pupil can identify one catastrophic thought pattern and practise a more balanced alternative.
  3. Session 3 Building a workable routine Pupil can design a realistic weekly revision routine that includes rest.
  4. Session 4 Coping on the day Pupil can name and rehearse at least two coping strategies for use immediately before or during an assessment.
  5. Session 5 My exam wellbeing plan Pupil has a personalised plan balancing academic effort with rest, and knows how to adjust it going forward.

A sixth session follows, without the pupil: the mentor writes the support plan and agrees next steps.

The approach, and where it comes from

Sessions combine cognitive behavioural techniques for reframing catastrophic thinking with practical study-skills coaching, since exam stress is rarely resolved by revision tips alone. Assessment periods concentrate pressure into a short, predictable window, which is what makes them worth preparing for rather than reacting to. It supports Ofsted's Personal Development and wellbeing focus, and reflects DfE's mental health and wellbeing guidance, which names assessment periods as a recognised pressure point needing proactive support.

Try it with a small group

Three weeks free, no card, up to three staff and ten pupils. Everything recorded during the trial carries over if you continue.

Start the free pilot

Or read the white paper, which sets out the evidence behind each of the twenty courses.

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