Norfolk's psychologists urge GCSE students to not bottle up their feelings
These assessments began for our 16 year-olds on Monday and run until 28th June
GCSE exams are underway and psychologists in Norfolk are encouraging students taking them to share their feelings with others and not bury themselves in revision.
These assessments began for our 16 year-olds on Monday (16th May) and run until 28th June.
Ruth Noble is a therapist from Diss and told us that balance is key and the following six weeks aren't the be all and end all:
"We want you to be eating well, sleeping well, keeping hydrated and doing exercise, along with fresh air. Of course, we want you to remember to spend time revising bit also to spend time doing things that you enjoy outside of work and your academics. Remember that there is more to your life than just school."
"These exams are such a small part of you showing the world who you are. If they don't go to plan, it's not the end of the world. The world is full of people who's exams results didn't go the way they wanted them to go and they are just fine. They are still having a fulfilling, happy, satisfying life despite these exams not going exactly to plan".
She went on to tell us that students should never isolate themselves during this time and should try and enter the exam hall in the best mindset possible:
"Reach out to a trusted adult, reach out to a friend. Share your story with your friends because you won't be the only one who's finding this difficult. A lot of your friends are also finding this difficult, and then if you can all sit down together and go 'this is really hard isn't it', then you won't feel so alone in this and it will make you feel better".
"If you go in there panicking, you're going to really struggle about the sort of things you might want to be writing in that exam. Different things will work for different people, some people it might be a few deep breathes before you go in, a soothing hug from a friend or perhaps listening to some calming music when you walk to school".