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This article was last updated on 5 May 2023.

Getting through exam season can be a big challenge, but maintaining a sense of calm under the mounting pressure when studying for your GCSEs or Nationals can really help you stay on course to achieve the best possible grades. We know it can be difficult, but we've got your back.

Our Mind Set coaches have some advice on how you can keep cooler than an ice cream whilst revising for your Nationals or GCSE exams. Give our video a watch and then read their tips below.

Video: How to keep calm

Our coaches on how to keep calm

Dr Radha wearing a yellow t-shirt sits in a waiting room, with black sofas and pot plants behind her.

Let's start off with some advice from our Mind Set experts. Dr Radha says it's really important that you recognise the signs of stress. If you're feeling stressed for longer than a couple of weeks, then seek advice from an adult. Anxiety Josh recommends you revise using past papers, "No matter how much you revise, you can never remove all uncertainty, so it’s good to revise using mock papers so you can practice dealing with the unknown." Whilst study breaks are top of the menu from Dr Anna Colton, she says that being in nature will help to reduce your stress, and that going for a walk can really improve your mood.

If you need more support around exam season and your mental health, we've got a page for that.

Doing things that make you happy can be a good stress-buster in the run up to exams. Daniel keeps himself calm by making or listening to music, gardening or watching movies and Jacintha finds writing a journal really helpful. "Just writing a few emotions down really helped, and when you look back at it in a few months, you realise that things weren’t as bad as they seemed."

Just taking some 'me' time can help keep you calm. °äłó±ô´Ç±đ’s number one thing to do to relax when revising was to have a bath. Meanwhile, Sekani loved to meditate, it really helped her keep a clear head and not worry too much about any exams she had coming up. Looking after your wellbeing is really important all year round, but especially during exam season, so Nung made a wellbeing box that has all her favourite memories, achievements and accomplishments inside it; this helped her to stay calm and motivated.

Using your phone and chatting to friends can be a good way to make you feel less stressed. Millie loved to speak to her friends whilst revising for her GCSE exams. She says, "Everyone in your year is going through the same thing at the same time." But once you've had a chat, make sure you get back on track and study. Shay always found it really hard to stay off his phone when he was revising for his exams, "I ended up turning my phone off and putting it in a drawer… so that I wouldn’t have the temptation of going on it."

If you want some more ideas for how to relieve stress in the run-up to exams, check this page.

Dr Radha wearing a yellow t-shirt sits in a waiting room, with black sofas and pot plants behind her.

Top tips from Anxiety Josh

GCSE and Nationals revision and exam season can be mega stressful. Here’s some more tips from Anxiety Josh on some things you can do if you’re feeling overwhelmed.

What is The Mind Set?

The Mind Set is two things: a series of films to help support you through your GCSEs and Nationals and a group of amazing young coaches who appear in the films.

Our coaches have been through their GCSEs or National Qualifications already. They come from all different backgrounds and all corners of the UK and they’ve all faced different challenges in getting to grips with exam revision. What they’ve got in common is that they all have heaps of exam revision tips, advice, helpful hints, hacks and wonderful words of wisdom they want to share with you.

In the series, we also hear advice from mental health professionals like Josh Fletcher (AKA “Anxiety Josh”) on how to look after your wellbeing and stay resilient during revision and exams season and we have top revision hacks from our very own memory expert, Dr Vanessa Loaiza!

Explore the Bitesize Study Support pages for more information and revision support.

This article was last updated on 12 October 2023.

If you need support

You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.

If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact , where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There are more links to helpful organisations on ±«Óătv Action Line.

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