Supporting Your Child Through Exam Period

It’s getting to that point of the year when timetables will soon be bustling with exam dates and coursework deadlines. If your child’s in the same boat and has their exams fast approaching, they may already be starting to feel the pressure and will need your support. To help them through their exams and do the best they can, here are some tips that we’ve put together with the help of a secondary school in Bath.

Exam Stress

Exams are possibly one of the hardest things that your child will go through at school so it’s quite normal for them to feel stressed. What’s important is that you are there for them to provide reassurance. However, if your child’s experiencing more severe anxiety (e.g., they are finding it hard to sleep and have lost their appetite), it can begin to affect their grades. We recommend speaking to a professional, such as their teacher, your GP or a school counsellor who can help.

Make Sure That They’re Taking Breaks

Understandably, your child may not want to spend every minute of every day revising and that’s good and the healthy thing to do. For their mental health, and sanity and to retain information, it’s important that your child takes breaks between their study sessions and gets enough sleep. To make sure that they are taking things easy whilst still getting their work done, create a simple and realistic study timetable.

Work Out Which Learning Style They Have

Going back to the point made above, hours and hours of revision aren’t necessary for good grades. It’s more so about how they revise and finding what works for them as we all take information in differently. Some children learn best when they have visual aids, whilst others need learning activities that are a little more hands-on and give them the chance to experience what they’re taught. To find your child’s learning style, have a good observation of how they follow instructions and like to do things. A VARK survey can also help. They ask a series of personality questions and determine which learning style an individual has.

Learn Together

If they’re lacking in motivation, why not give them the push they need by turning their revision into a fun activity where you learn and test one another? It will help to make their boring old topics memorable and will give you an insight into what they’re learning about.

Work Through Their Fears

Working through their fears can help children with their anxiety. If things don’t go as expected, remind them that it’s okay. There may be the possibility to re-sit and do even better next time.