The Christmas holiday is a time where students can focus on family relationships, mentally reset, and relax their active minds. However, with the implementation of regular subject assessments, students are starting to dread this holiday. 

Students are becoming desperate for a proper break, but short holidays do not seem to be enough. Instead of healing both the body and mind with sleep, most students are sacrificing this necessity with exhausting and monotonous revision. This is due to the exams they must take on the first week back. Although their diligent revision may reflect well in their exam results, many students’ mental health declines. Not only does this result in mental illness, but also destroys the relationship students have with learning. This leads to an early ‘burn-out,’ or lack of motivation towards their studies. In fact, last year dealt with the highest number of self-harm cases due to exam pressures. 

How should students deal with exam pressure? There are numerous ways to deal with this stress, for example: approaching revision in an exciting way by inviting friends to study with; pacing yourself properly with breaks; asking a teacher for guidance. January is stressful, but with the right methods the new year can be a joyful, refreshing start.