How to manage exam stress

As teenagers anxiously await test results, schools must focus on mental health

Students in the eleventh grade work on their history exam at the Al Rams Secondary School for Boys in Al Rams, Ras Al Khaimah. Jeff Topping / The National

As students wait for A-level results next week and GCSEs the week after, there will be more than a few bitten nails and even sleepless nights across the UAE. Final exams have always mattered, but as competition for university places increases and a good degree is seen as a requisite for a good career, the pressure on teenagers increases.

A few sleepless nights are nothing to worry about. A bit of stress can bring out the best in exams. But it is when that stress develops into something more serious that it can become dangerous. As our story this week reported, cultural, family and societal pressure to excel at examinations can cause teenagers to feel shame, anxiety and even a loss of self esteem.

Most teenagers are, in any case, at a pivotal and difficult age and exam stress can exacerbate their emotional ups and downs. At its most extreme, it could push them to a position where they feel they have no way out. In the past few months there has been at least one case of suicide by a teenager who felt under intense exam pressure.

It is too easy to say that teenagers need to understand there is more to life than exams. The message telegraphed across society, multiplied by schools and parents, is that success in exams matters. And, frankly, it does. But not at the expense of mental health. Teenagers must be told – and this is a task for parents primarily – that their value does not rest on the grades they receive. If they do not get the grades this time around, they could always try again.

Schools should also convey the message that while academic excellence matters, that alone does not lead to a happy, successful life. There are many exciting, worthwhile jobs that require other skills than simply being good at taking tests.

Most of all, schools must be on the look out for signs of stress and anxiety. And indeed, in the spirit of offering a full education, schools must make dealing with the inevitable stress an essential part of a teenager’s education. Learning how to take a test is as important as taking one.