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BySam Allcock
April 30, 2025

Parents Highlight Stress Management as Key Skill Missing from Education

  • A new report by FindTutors, in collaboration with GoStudent, reveals that students in the UK are struggling more than ever with exam-related stress.

  • This finding follows a dramatic rise in anxiety referrals for children since before the pandemic.

  • As Stress Awareness Month concludes, parents are being encouraged to support their children during one of the most high-pressure times of their academic lives.

According to private tuition provider FindTutors, stress management is the most critical life skill that students in the UK are not learning – a concern echoed by many parents nationwide.

The insight comes from the upcoming Education Report conducted by FindTutors and GoStudent, set for release in May. The report surveyed 1,000 parents and guardians across the UK for their views on the national education system and exam culture.

With exams looming for pupils of all ages, rising stress levels linked to revision and performance pressure continue to impact mental wellbeing – despite awareness campaigns like April’s Stress Awareness Month promoting better stress-coping strategies.

A 2024 report by the Association of School and College Leaders revealed that 77% of secondary school teachers have seen students in Year 11 experience mental health struggles linked to exam stress. NHS data supports this growing concern, showing that referrals for anxiety among children have more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Tiara Junanto at FindTutors and former teaching assistant, provides five tips for both students and parents to help cope with exam stress over the coming weeks.
“Preparing for and sitting exams can be incredibly stressful, and without the right tools or knowledge to deal with this, it can quickly spiral into more serious issues.
“The most important thing by far is sleep. We’ve all been there, working on a particularly tricky subject late in the day, and it is tempting to keep going at the expense of a good night’s sleep. This is almost always a mistake, with poor quality or insufficient sleep shown by multiple studies to reduce your attention span and how effective your brain is at understanding things. Aim to get at least 8 hours a night, even on busy days.
“Alongside this comes exercise and nutrition. Grabbing the microwave meal or skipping that run to do a few extra hours of revision sounds like a good idea, but if you have weeks or months to go until the end of exam season it will quickly catch up with you. Exercise can be a fantastic stress reliever and provides your brain with a much-needed break from studying.
“As exams get closer, try and share your feelings with other students or friends, discussing your experiences can help you feel more in control of situations and hearing that others are going through a similar time can be reassuring. But make sure it doesn’t just become a competition to see who is doing the most revision, which is never helpful. Also make sure that you get help from a professional, if you need.
“On the day of, or night before, exams, try and take some time to relax. Techniques such as deep breathing exercises or mindfulness can help you feel less stressed and if you’ve already put in the work, will be more beneficial than any last-minute cramming and certainly better than a night without sleep.
“Finally, don’t discuss the exam with your friends afterward. It is very tempting to try and compare answers to reassure yourself that you have done well, but this can be unhelpful for both you and your friends when you are powerless to do anything about the outcome. This is especially true if you still have more exams to come. Try to let it go and forget about it.”
BySam Allcock
Updated on

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