Ask Sam letter

Hi,

Thanks for your letter. I can hear that all of the homework on the lead up to your SATs has felt like a big change and seems to be making you feel quite stressed and worried.

Your teacher is there to support you and may be able to help you organise a homework timetable so that you can fit everything in. Timetables are good because they help you to set aside time for each subject. Revision timetables help you know when you need to work and when you don’t.

Telling someone like your teacher can help. Sometimes it's hard for the people around you to know that you are struggling unless you tell them.

It’s always a good idea to make sure that you have time to do fun things too. Pendarren sounds like good fun. Often we learn things while we are having a nice time and it’s always good to give ourselves time to relax and take part in activities that we enjoy outside of school.

SATs tests can help the teachers in your secondary school know how well you are coping with things and where you might need extra help. Everyone learns and develops in different ways and at different speeds. All anyone can ever do in any test or exam is try their best.

Exams are important. In some situations, you may be able to re-take them. Perhaps you can ask your teacher about taking exams again later on - they should be able to tell you about how this works.

You could think about talking to an adult that you trust about your worries. This could be a teacher, a family member or carer that you feel comfortable around. You can read more about asking an adult for help.

You’re welcome to talk to a ChildLine counsellor about how you are feeling and what’s been going on at any time. Our counsellors want to support you. You can contact us through 1-2-1 chat or by calling on 0800 1111 (this is a free number even from a mobile and it won’t show up on your bill).

Hope this helps.

Take care,
Sam