I am seventeen years old. For the last four years I’ve had to sit a series of exams that have affected my future. As you can imagine this has brought about repeated feelings of anxiety, stress and dread.
I am not alone in this, many of my peers agree. Also, after doing some research I found that ‘The ChildLine National Exam Stress Survey’ revealed that 96% of the 1300 who completed the survey felt anxious about exams and revision.
Of course, there is an alternative to exams – coursework. Many have to do a coursework module in order to achieve the full qualification, this is mainly for those doing humanity subjects, like me. However, some people frown upon coursework, especially in high school as it is thought that the teachers spoon feed students, which I can tell you from personal experience, is not true. I personally, see nothing wrong with the coursework option and hold the opinion that all exams do is test your memory, your memory of something that you’ll forget the year later anyway.
It’s not just sitting exams that I hate. It’s also revision. A thing that takes up nearly all of my time. Last year, I became a hermit. I went to school, came home, revised. On a Saturday I’d go to my part time job, came home and revised. On a Sunday I would just revise, all day. I understand that hard work is what it takes to get somewhere in life but I also need experiences. This year, I am going to struggle with the hermit life as now I depend on social activity to survive.
One thing I’ve always been told is that life is a balancing act. I love that interpretation of life because honestly, it is. You balance school work with social activity, family life with seeing friends… and so on. However, exams affect this. Schools simply expect students to solely revise for months on end, they don’t try and consider whether this is practical or how it impacts on teenagers mental health. I hate it. I hate the entire school system.
Not only is there exams, there’s also mock exams. Admittedly, us teenagers try not to take them too seriously, especially when they are around Christmas time however they weigh down us. They stress us out. It’s two weeks before Christmas and teenagers find it difficult to get excited. Many believe that Mocks are just to scare us, they aid us in discovering what we already know. Teachers say that Mocks are there to kick us into shape. I believe that Mocks are there to stress us out.
High school is hard enough as it is, just watch ‘Mean Girls ‘ and you’ll get the idea. With the added pressure of exams and mock exams it becomes a nightmare. Our lives become a war. We are fighting against revision and hoping that our future will just fall into place.
For some further reading on the topic a particular article by The Telegraph both shocked and interested me. If my article interested you, I’d recommend you read it.
