Exam papers and tests are the current number one enemy to anyone approaching their GCSEs, the amount exam boards expect students to know, recall, and apply has only increased with the implementation of the new 9-1 system of grading, which teachers will admit to still not fully grasping. This change in system makes it hard for both students and teachers to understand exactly how good a score is, and makes mark schemes no grade boundaries almost impossible to estimate.

Mock papers are starting to be forced upon students of all kinds: those who panic, those who are too laid-back, and those who are perfectly prepared. The variety in approaches to mocks -or indeed any form of testing- can begin to turn schools in to a breeding ground for stress. Whilst a lot can be done to try and combat the feelings of dread leading up to an exam very little may be done in regards to the stress of receiving results. 

For many the efforts put in to working and revising pay off, and for others the same cannot be said, and the results students get from mocks will effect their approach to the final exam; bad results could be a wake up call to try harder or could prompt a spiral in to failure, good results may encourage keeping up hard work or may even boost the ego a bit too much. It’s these mix of reactions to a mix of results which need to be controlled, everyone needs to continue the work they’ve put in or improve their mindset and approach.

Eleanor Mackintosh, Millais