Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of exams on mental health.

Exams and other assessments are an essential part of ensuring that young people have acquired the knowledge and skills they need in order to succeed in further study and in later life.

We recognise that exams, like other things in life such as job interviews, have the potential to exacerbate feelings of stress amongst young people. But when pupils receive the right support, for many of them the level of stress from exams is manageable.

We encourage schools to provide safe, calm and supportive environments that help young people to understand and look after their mental health and wellbeing and develop healthy behaviours that can support them to stay well during stressful periods.

There is also a range of advice and guidance on how to beat exam stress. This includes guidance from the NHS, accessible at: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents/help-your-child-beat-exam-stress/.

Additional guidance by Ofqual can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coping-with-exam-pressure-a-guide-for-students. The information provides some useful advice which pupils can use to help alleviate or lessen the anxiety they have about sitting exams.