How to deal with exam stress

Feeling overwhelmed? Whatever you're feeling, you’re not alone. Childline is a free, private and confidential service offering support to anyone under 19.

Talk to other young people on our message boards. Create an anonymous account to email one of our counsellors. Visit our Calm zone for calming activities.

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What you can do
Is Childline confidential?
Struggling to talk?
Exam stress top tips
Get more support

What you can do

There are lots of ways that Childline can help you deal with exam stress.

Talk to other young people

Get support without judgement on the message boards. Share your story, help others or just see how other people have coped.

Use the message boards

Message a counsellor

Childline counsellors are here for whatever you're feeling, whenever you need us. Messages to us are confidential and you can talk about anything.

Send us a message

Try some calming activities

There are lots of ways to feel calmer. It's about finding what works for you. Try some of our breathing exercises, activities, games and videos to help let go of stress.

Visit the Calm zone

Is Childline confidential?

Our confidentiality promise means that we won’t tell other people what you’ve said without your permission. There are only a few times we might need to say something:

We believe your life or someone else's life is in danger.
You're being hurt by someone in a position of trust who's able to hurt other children, like a teacher, religious leader, sports coach, police officer or doctor.
You tell us that you're seriously hurting another person.
You tell us about another child who's being hurt and isn't able to tell someone or understand what's happening to them.
We're told we have to by law, for example for a court case.

Not sure what all of this means? Get more information on our confidentiality promise or ask one of our counsellors.

Our confidentiality promise

Confidentiality means not telling anyone else about what you’ve said. Find out more.

Struggling to talk?

It can be hard sharing what’s happening sometimes, but there are a few things that can make it easier.

Take your time

Only share as much as you’re comfortable with. You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.

Tell us if it’s hard to talk

Not sure where to start? Try making a list of things to ask or telling us that it’s difficult.

Make a plan

Decide the best time to contact us and choose the space you feel safest to do it.

Reward yourself

Plan something nice to do after sending a message or talking to us.

Keep trying

Even if other people haven’t given you a good response, you can still find someone to listen to you. Whether you share what’s happening with us or someone you trust, it can help to get things out.

Exam stress top tips

Exams can be hard to cope with sometimes, but there are lots of things you can do to cope.

Take care of yourself

When you’ve got lots of revision, it can be tempting to push yourself as hard as possible. Or you might find it overwhelming and feel like you’re struggling to start.

Focusing on taking care of yourself can make things easier. It can help you to focus or give you more motivation to start.

There are lots of small things you can do to take care of yourself.

Eat healthily

Eating healthily and having regular meals can help keep your energy up and make it easier to concentrate. Remember to drink lots of water as well.

Go outside if you can

Take time to exercise or go for a walk. Getting outside and away from your work for a short break can help you feel better and make it easier to cope with stress.

Keep to a sleep schedule

It can be tempting to stay up late working, but getting enough sleep can help you feel more able to cope and concentrate. And we’ve got lots of advice if you’re struggling to sleep.

Take breaks

If you work for too long, it can make it harder to concentrate and be productive. Taking small, relaxing breaks can help you feel more able to work at other times and can make the stress easier to cope with.

Be kind to yourself

Take time to focus on the things you’ve done well, whether they’re big or small. You could write them down, share them with someone you care about or post them on the message boards.

If you’re struggling to take care of yourself or things are getting too much, remember that we're always here to talk.

Set up a timetable

Setting up a revision timetable can help you feel more in control and able to focus on what you need to do.

Your timetable includes what work you need to do each day, and you can change it any time based on what’s working and what’s not. You could plan a week ahead, or longer if that helps.

To make your timetable:

Make a list of the work you need to do over the next week and how long you think you’ll need to do it.
List the days of the week and what times you have available each day to work.
Decide what’s most important to do first and fill in each day with the work that needs to be completed.
Make sure to add in time to get enough sleep, have meals and take breaks.

Still not sure where to start? It can help to ask your teacher, an adult you trust or one of our counsellors.

Let your stress out

Everybody gets stressed sometimes, but when it gets too much it can make it hard to concentrate or cope. But you don’t need to cope alone.

If your stress is starting to get to you:

Use the Calm zone to find ways to relax.
Express yourself using art, or by writing things down.
Share how you’re feeling with someone you trust.

Get more ideas on coping with stress

Share how you’re feeling

You’re not alone in how you’re feeling, and sharing what things are like for you can help release your stress and make it easier to cope. When people are putting pressure on you to do well, it can help to share how this makes you feel as well.

There are lots of people you could talk to:

Your parents, carers or your family.
Friends and people at school.
Teachers or other adults you trust.
Other young people on the message boards.
A Childline counsellor.

You don’t have to share everything if you don’t want to, and it might help to write things down first.

Get more advice on ways to ask for help

Exam stress

Get advice if you're feeling stressed or worried.