Are exams too pressurising these days?

The day after my final A-Level exam my world began to fall apart. But why?

This was meant to be the best time ever. I had a whole gap year to look forward to, I should've been embracing my freedom like every other student. But I couldn't relax and the thought of freedom terrified me, it's a big black hole of nothing. I didn't know what the purpose of life was anymore and I couldn't go through a day without thinking the most negative thoughts, being sick or just panicking. Revision had taken over my life, to the point where I wasn't actually living. My exams had finished and now I felt no sense of purpose at all.

The thing is experiencing this wasn't ok and it's not right students having to go through anxiety or any other mental health illness because of feeling over pressured by school and exams.

My experience was three years ago, but when I currently type into Google 'students and anxiety' I still can't believe the lists of articles that pop up. There's even one by the BBC about how student suicide rates have risen. This just isn't right, action needs to be taken.

I'm not literally pointing the finger at schools and teachers as some do offer great help. But how aware do schools make the students of this help? Especially during their prime time of need.

School has definitely made my anxiety and every other problem 10X worse and I just hate it. They literally only care about good grades

— lily (@donniephoenix) April 3, 2017

The amount of stress and anxiety that I get because of school is insane

— G.A (@gaksssss) March 24, 2017

It's not just during exams that students struggle, like myself, what about after exams? Figures from the NSPCC-run helpline, 'Childline', revealed that students receiving counselling about exam results rose by 20% in 2016.

Today there's so much pressure and focus on grades that other life skills that students are meant to take away from school become forfeited, including their health.

Of course grades are important, but as Peter Walness Cheif Executive of the NSPCC has said: "There's life beyond exam results".

I just hope schools embrace this soon before it's too late.