A-level students 'more stressed than ever'

Teenagers sitting their A-level exams are under unprecedented levels of stress, according to new research.

Mental health charity YoungMinds said it has seen a significant rise in the number of children contacting its helpline to complain of exam anxiety, the Guardian reports.

Lucie Russell, director of campaigns, policy and participation, said the organisation is also being contacted by more concerned parents than ever.

"We are sitting on a mental health timebomb and the more we put young people under extreme pressure to achieve academically, the more we are storing up problems in adulthood that will cost us dearly in NHS and social care costs," she commented.

Stephen Sheedy, principal of Queen Mary's sixth-form college in Basingstoke, said youngsters today cannot be as confident about the future as their older brothers and sisters, with rising tuition fees and high unemployment levels to consider.

Other factors that could be causing stress for students include the removal of Education Maintenance Allowance payments and the decision to life the cap on tuition fees to £9,000 a year.

Posted by Dolcie Thacker
 

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