Pupils turning to counselling for exam stress

Childline said that worrying about exam results can affect young people’s ability to sleep, trigger anxiety attacks, depression, and eating disorders.

In the most serious cases it can also lead to self-harm and suicidal feelings, or make existing mental health conditions worse.

The NSPCC helpline said that one-in-four of all sessions it gave to young people about their GCSE and A-level results during 2015/16 were delivered in August as students received their grades.

The charity said that not wanting to disappoint parents, fear of failure and “pressures linked to academic achievement” were among the reasons why young people were contacting Childline.

New figures show there were 1,127 counselling session relating to exam results stress carried out in 2015/16 compared with 937 in 2014-15 - an increase of 20 per cent. There were 287 counselling sessions about exam result concerns delivered in August last year, up from 213 in August 2014.

Now as thousands of students across the region wait to discover how they fared in their A-levels tomorrow and in GCSEs next week, the charity is seeking to reassure young people.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: “Awaiting exam results can cause lots of stress and anxiety for young people.

“These figures show that the pressure to perform well in exams is being felt by young people across the country and this can be difficult for them to handle.

“We hear from lots of young people each year who are really worried about their results and what the future may hold. If they want to talk Childline is always here to listen. It’s important to remember there is life beyond exam results. Disappointing grades are not the end of the world, even if it doesn’t feel that way at the time.”

A 15-year-old boy told the service: “I feel like I’m going to explode waiting for my GCSE results...I can’t sleep most nights because I’m constantly thinking about my results and feel like I’ve wasted my summer because this has been in the back of my mind the whole time. I don’t want to feel like a failure.”

A 17-year-old girl said: “I’m worried about getting my AS results because I think I might have failed. I’ve really struggled with the workload in college this year and it’s been impossible to concentrate on revising. I just don’t feel motivated anymore.

“I don’t have anyone to talk to about this at the moment, but speaking to Childline has helped me and I feel inspired to try to work through things.”

Children and young people can contact Childline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 1111 and at www.childline.org.uk.