Rethinking Exam Stress: What Your Summer Results Can Teach You About Next Year’s Success
With this summer’s exam results behind you, now is the perfect time to take a breath, reflect on how things went — and start planning ahead for your next exam cohort.
While results day gives you headline numbers, it’s the conversations behind the data that reveal the real picture. Take time to gather feedback from your teacher review sessions, listen to student reflections, and look beyond the grades to identify what really affected outcomes this year.
What Did You Notice About Stress and Performance?
One theme that continues to emerge in schools across the country is the growing impact of exam stress on student performance. From panic attacks during mock exams to behaviour spikes in the lead-up to GCSEs and A-levels, it’s becoming increasingly clear that academic preparation alone isn’t enough.
Ask yourself:
- Which students struggled the most — and why?
Were there specific signs of anxiety, overwhelm, or avoidance? - Did any students request separate invigilation or time out due to panic or fear?
If so, this points to a wider wellbeing issue that needs a proactive solution. - What support did staff need but not have?
Teachers and support teams are on the front line, and their input can shape how you do things differently next year.
What Kind of Support Do Your Students Really Need?
When reviewing your approach, think carefully about the kind of support different students may benefit from:
- Do some need 1:1 support or mentoring around anxiety and stress?
- Would small group sessions help certain groups feel less alone and more confident?
- Is there scope to introduce a whole-year-group preparation course that tackles stress as well as study?
And importantly: Who will deliver this?
Your pastoral teams may already be stretched. Your teachers may need extra resources or training to feel confident in delivering emotional wellbeing strategies alongside academic content.
What Do Teachers Need to Support Exam Readiness?
Your staff are just as affected by exam season stress as your students. They’re managing data, expectations, classroom behaviour, and student emotions — often all at once.
To support them in supporting students, consider:
- CPD around exam anxiety and how students manage their responses to stress
- Plug-and-play resources they can drop into existing schemes of work
- Clear systems for referring students who may need more focused help
Giving staff confidence and clarity around exam stress support can make a huge difference — both for student outcomes and teacher wellbeing.
Plan Your Objectives for the Next Exam Season
Use this planning window to define your aims for the next exam cohort:
- What does a successful exam season look like — beyond just grades?
- How will you help students manage stress, avoid panic, and stay engaged with their learning?
- Can your curriculum accommodate a short-term exam stress programme, or would a deeper, longer intervention be more beneficial?
A Simple, Effective Solution to Exam Anxiety
If you're looking for a ready-made way to build student resilience before exam season, my workshops always come with additional resources to help you slot your training exercises into your curriculum.
My Exam Mindset, Resilience and Reaction Plan CPD days come with
✅ Lesson PowerPoints
✅ Printable Workbooks
✅ MP3 Audio Exercises
✅ Visual Infographics
They’re designed 1st to help teachers deliver the training and 2nd to help your students:
- Understand what causes their exam stress
- Learn how to manage panic attacks and emotional overwhelm
- Stay focused and calm under pressure
- Feel confident walking into the exam room
Support Better Outcomes Next Year — Start Now
You don’t need to overhaul your whole system to make a difference. You just need the right tools at the right time.
When you invite me in to deliver a day’s training, or a longer deep dive, we’ll have worked together on exactly WHAT it is that will help YOUR school the most.
I can talk you through all the options in a Discovery Call.
👉 You can set that up here https://www.geraldinejozefiak.com/calendar
If you’ve any questions about exam stress, contact me at [email protected]
To less stress in every area of school.
Geraldine Jozefiak
Exam Stress Coach
P.S. Catch up on my latest blog at www.geraldinejozefiak.com/blog