THOUSANDS of pupils are receiving counselling as they are struggling to cope with the pressure of exam stress.
New figures from the NSPCC, published as the summer exams series begins, show Childline delivered almost 3,000 counselling sessions across Britain and Northern Ireland in 2018/19.
About one in three of these took place in April and May.
Young people told Childline they were worried about disappointing their parents; trying their best and still failing; having excessive workloads; and feeling unmotivated to revise.
One teenage boy said: "I am about to take my GCSEs and I am under so much stress that I find it hard to motivate myself. My friends are studying a lot which is putting me under more pressure. I've tried talking to my mum but it ends up in an argument as she gets angry when I don't study."
Others said the prospect of taking exams was having an adverse effect on their mental health, with some coping by self-harming.
The most common ages for exam stress counselling were 15/16-year-olds, as they work towards their GCSEs.
Boys were five times less likely than girls to talk to counsellors.
