Free talk for parents of Year 11 students: How to navigate GCSE exam stress with Anna Jurek

[JAGS Sports Club Team]

Parents of Year 11 students are invited to a talk at Copper Beech Cafe with local Counselling Psychologist Anna Jurek, on 28th February at 7.30pm.  This event is free but ticketed - please book here.

How to navigate GCSE exam stress

Your children have been preparing for their GCSEs for the last 1.5 years of their school life – they know how important these exams are and stress and anxiety are on the rise.

At this stage of the school term your child may be presenting with:

• worries and anxieties, panic attacks
• being unable to concentrate and revise
• insomnia
• loss of appetite or craving only unhealthy foods
• hopelessness about the future
• disengagement in activities they previously enjoyed
• low mood and loneliness
• risky and self-harming activities

Some of these symptoms are a healthy response to exams – we need a bit of motivational stress to be able to perform well.  However, the stress response becomes problematic when it has an impact on our physical and emotional health.

As parents and carers, we sometimes feel lost in our responses supporting young people; we have been there, we know that our children will go through the exams and will survive them. However, children won’t find this useful – they need support with a variety of approaches, often designed and adjusted just for them.

Join us on 28th February and Anna will offer parents tips and tools to help navigate this sometimes tricky period.

At the end of the talk there will be time for questions.

Please book here.  

Copper Beech Cafe is situated next to JAGS Sports Club on Red Post hill.  Please walk, cycle or take public transport to the cafe as there is very limited parking onsite.  Disabled parking available.