Exam Week Stress, is it Healthy for Teenagers?

There is a certain time of the year which causes students across the country's faces to drop- exam week. In certain ways, exam week can be helpful to students, as it shows them the level they are working at in school and what areas they may need to improve in, however, in most cases, exam week brings high levels of stress, which may not be good for teenagers. 

Studies show that in the past 25 years, rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have increased by 70 per cent, and although the causes of these high rates can also be due to social pressures brought by society and media, anxiety can also be caused by school. 

Of course, exams are a vital part of school life, and all students have to go through with them, however surely a whole week of exams occurring once, twice and sometimes even three times a day cannot be healthy for a students mental state? The answer of this question is dependent on the teenager. Of course many teenagers feel stressed or anxious around the tine of exam week, however anxiety in teenagers is at a high, which shows that perhaps too many exams in a week can impact the performance of the pupil. 

The mental health of humans can sometimes not be regarded as highly as the physical health, and it is important for teenagers to be healthy in both ways- mentally and physically, which perhaps means that although exams should be taken to track a student’s progress, too many exams can be an impact to their health. 

However, exam week can be good preparation to students for upcoming exams such as GCSEs or A-levels, which all occur in a similar short space of time, so perhaps there should be a way to prepare students without compromising their menal health; for now, exam week continues… 

By Prisca Romano-Stuart, Gumley House School.