Girls 5 times more likely to seek help from Childline1
New figures show that Childline gave 2,795 counselling sessions about exam stress in 2018/19 - around a third in April and May2. Counselling sessions were most commonly with 15 or 16 year olds, when many are preparing for GCSEs3.
Young people's concerns included:
- disappointing their parents
- trying their best and still failing
- excessive workloads
- and feeling unmotivated to revise.
Other young people said worrying about taking exams was negatively affecting their mental health, causing some to self-harm or feel suicidal.
Childline is encouraging all young people to speak out if they're stressed about their exams, especially boys who are 5 times less likely than girls to talk to Childline about the pressure they're under.