How do I help a student whose anxiety peaks at exam time?
By Emma Whitcombe · published
Take pressure off rather than adding it. Make revision small enough to start, flag the student to the SENCo early so any access arrangement becomes their normal way of working, and rehearse the exam room in advance. Keeping the student connected to school matters more than any single grade. Signs of self-harm go to the DSL the same day.
Why does exam pressure push some students out of school?
Exams push in two directions at once. The first is fear of being judged: for a high achiever, a mock isn’t a measure of what she knows but a verdict on whether she is who everyone thinks she is. Staying away removes that threat instantly, and the relief is exactly what makes the habit so hard to break. The second is overwhelm. Revision has no edges, and for an anxious perfectionist an endless task means she can’t start at all.
The register often shows it before anyone says anything. Look for a student who misses the mornings with assessments and turns up for the lessons with nothing riding on them. The student everyone calls ‘no trouble at all’ is the blind spot, because nobody worries about the one who used to hand everything in early. By the time the empty seats in the mocks are noticed, she has often been losing sleep over it for weeks.
How do you make revision small enough to start?
The instinct with a clever student who has stopped coming is to pull the academic lever: more revision sessions, a word about wasted potential. Every one of those is pressure, and pressure feeds the avoidance. You end up leaning on the very thing that is keeping her away. Do almost the opposite. Turn the whole specification into one bounded task with a clear start and a clear end, small enough that saying no to it would feel silly.
Sit with her, or ask the adult she trusts most to, and say: ‘We’re not doing all of it tonight. We’re doing one thing: circulation, twenty-five minutes, and then you’re done and you’ve earned the evening. That’s the whole job.’ The twenty-five minutes matter less than breaking the spell that the work is infinite. If she still can’t start with a plan like that, the block isn’t organisation. It’s the fear underneath, and that is a conversation for the SENCo, not a better timetable.
What exam access arrangements can an anxious student get?
Access arrangements in England are set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), and the SENCo, not the class teacher, decides them. Everything turns on one phrase: the arrangement must be the student’s ‘normal way of working’ in lessons, internal tests and mocks. For anxiety, the JCQ rules say supervised rest breaks may be more effective and appropriate than 25 per cent extra time, and the SENCo should consider them first. During a rest break the student has no access to the paper, and the break ‘must not be used as thinking time’.
Two limits are worth knowing before you promise anything. The SENCo must be satisfied the student has a substantial and long-term impairment, which means disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act. And the rules state that ‘nervousness, low level anxiety or being worried about examinations is not sufficient grounds for separate invigilation’ (JCQ, Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments, applying in 2026/27).
Why do access arrangements need to start years before the exam?
Because an arrangement switched on in the spring of Year 11 is not a normal way of working, and it can be refused. The JCQ expects schools to have ‘firmly established a picture of need and normal way of working during Years 7 to 9’, so they can apply at the start of a two-year GCSE course. A rest break a student needs in June has to be one she has already been using in classroom tests for months.
That makes it work for every teacher, not just the Year 11 team. If a Year 8 student stops mid-test, asks to leave or freezes in timed tasks, write down what you saw and pass it to the SENCo. A dated note now is the evidence the SENCo will need later. Then say to them: ‘Her anxiety is affecting how she copes with assessment. Can we look at what she might need and log it as her normal way of working while there’s time?’
How do you take the ambush out of the exam hall?
Much of the fear is the unfamiliar room: rows of desks, a clock on the wall, silence and no obvious exit. Unfamiliarity is the cheapest part to remove. Walk the student in when the hall is empty, show her where her desk will be, where the invigilator stands and how she signals for a rest break. Tell her: ‘Before the day, we’ll go in together when it’s quiet, you’ll sit at your actual desk, and I’ll show you exactly how the rest break works.’
If walking her in isn’t part of your role, a photo of the hall laid out or a quick sketch of where her desk sits, passed to whoever does take her, still helps. What you never do is improvise on the morning. Invigilation arrangements are governed by the JCQ rules, and a kind change made on the spot can put the paper at risk.
What matters more than the grade?
Keeping her in school. A student who stays connected on a gentler footing, sitting the papers that matter most, has a future you can work with. A student who has vanished by February because the message was ‘grades or nothing’ is much harder to reach. The attendance guidance says pupils with worries about schoolwork or examinations are still expected to attend, and that a long absence ‘may heighten anxious feelings about attending in future’ (paragraph 54). So say to her and her parent together: ‘Right now I’m less worried about the grades than about you keeping a foot in the door.’
Know where your part ends. Exam arrangements belong to the SENCo. If a parent mentions sleepless nights and something more, or you see signs of self-harm, that goes to your Designated Safeguarding Lead today, in a dated, factual note. You don’t promise to keep it secret and you don’t refer to CAMHS yourself: that route runs through the GP or the SENCo. If a student is in immediate danger, call 999.
More questions teachers ask
Sources
- Joint Council for Qualifications: Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments (updated March 2026, applies during the 2026/27 academic year)
- Department for Education: Working together to improve school attendance (statutory guidance, July 2026 edition)
- Department for Education and Department of Health: SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years
- Department for Education: Keeping children safe in education 2026 (statutory guidance, in force from 1 September 2026)
Legal and statistical points checked against the sources above on 14 October 2026. Guidance changes, so check GOV.UK and your school’s own policies before acting.