Kids as young as 10 suffer exam stress
New research has found that children as young as 10 feel the strain of exams. Its as we head into Key Stage 2 SATs exam period.
A recent study of primary school pupils found that a fifth of children here in the North East who took their Key Stage 2 SATs last year lost sleep due to nerves and stress.
Figures also show that 1 in 7 kids lost their appetite as they were feeling the strain ahead of their tests.
It’s as over half a million pupils prepare to sit their SATs this week. The research found that more than 96,000 students across the UK went into their exams feeling hungry after skipping breakfast in favour of last minute revision.
More specifically, one in eight children claim they didn’t eat most mornings of SATs week, with girls almost twice as likely as boys to abandon breakfast.
Well one school right here in the North East is doing all it can to try and avoid unnecessary stress on their pupils. Mark Steward is Head Teacher at Greenland Community Primary he said during exam period they make sure every pupil has eaten breakfast by holding a compulsory breakfast club:
“We hold the kids Breakfast club for about 30-40 minutes on the morning of exams. During SATs week we ask all year 6 children to come in and if they don’t come in or don’t have time to come in, we take food into their classrooms to make sure they have eaten something before they sit the tests. We’ve found it makes a really big difference to their concentration”
The effect of the tests on pupils of that age can create anxiety. Three in 10 couldn’t concentrate as they were too nervous and 1 in 10 kids said they felt sick with worry. Ten of the thousand children polled even claim to have skipped a SATs test altogether.
Head teacher Mark told us how his school tries to help kids avoid being nervous:
"It's common for children to feel a little agitated before exams but we try and make sure our children are well prepared and reassure them that what they will be doing in the tests is no different to what they do the rest of the year. We tell the children to try and enjoy it if they can and try and give it their best. We try and keep things as consistent as we can so that the exams aren't really a big deal for the kids."