Do exams leave youngsters close to breaking point?

THOUSANDS of teenagers are facing the annual ordeal of GCSE and Alevel exams over the next few weeks.

Most will cope with the stresses and strains, but a significant minority will find the additional pressures nearly unbearable.

That’s why Councillor Cyndi Hughes, who chairs the Darlington Children and Young People Collective, is urging teachers, parents and pupils to be alert for signs that some young people are not coping.

Crucially, Coun Hughes wants everyone to be aware that they are not alone and help is at hand.

The Labour councillor, who represents the Park East ward, is so concerned about the situation that she recently called a meeting of the collective, part of the Darlington Partnership, to discuss what measures could be taken, not only to help youngsters sitting exams, but also pupils facing the trauma of moving up from primary school to secondary school.

She has written to the headteachers of every school in the town, urging them to be vigilant for signs that some young people are finding it hard to cope.

This exam season is no different to any other, you may say, but Coun Hughes says the background pressures faced by young people today are probably much greater than their parents faced.

An increasingly competitive, winner-takesall society combined with sky-high youth unemployment has pushed a lot of vulnerable young people close to the edge.

She said: “I am active on Facebook and you can pick up a lot of anxiety from young people and their parents.

“I think the collective impact of increased child poverty and rising unemployment rates for young people is adding to the pressure.”

The young people’s charity Young Minds is in no doubt about the crisis engulfing many young people.

Young Minds says modern society can be bad for the mental health of our children and young people.

FACTORS that add to a toxic mix are the widespread breakdown of families, pressure to have access to money, the perfect body and lifestyle, rampant consumerism and round-the-clock social networking.

Added to that is the fact schools are “getting more and more like exam factories, university entry ever more competitive and expensive and that one in five 16 to 24-year-olds are unemployed”.

The Young Minds website says an estimated three children in every classroom has a diagnosable mental health disorder and an estimated 850,000 have mental health problems.

Another charity, Anxiety UK, points out that one in six young people say they are experiencing an anxiety problem, with between one in 12 and one in 15 self-harming.

“We want to assure people that they are not alone. We know parents want their children to achieve but they also want them to be happy…which is probably the number one priority,”

says Coun Hughes, who has a 15-yearold daughter doing GCSEs and a 13-year-old son in secondary school.

She says she is impressed at the efforts made by some Darlington schools to support young people who may be suffering stress.

However, she feels more could be done to make every child and parent aware that help is at hand.

She says: “I need to be satisfied that what is going on in schools is adequate, if not great.

“Some of the schools are offering yoga and Indian head massage during exam periods.

“Others are running what are known as Friendship Circles, which encourage children to talk about their problems.”

She has been extremely impressed at an initiative in Heathfield Primary School, where headteacher Nick Blackburn successfully applied for Government funds that has allowed the school to build a “wellbeing” annexe and hire counsellors to support young people and their families.

News of the initiative has spread and now 11 schools in the Darlington area have signed up to the scheme.

Coun Hughes also welcomes an initiative by other Darlington schools in which young people are invited to revise at school rather than at home.

New-style parent evenings where the student is also present have also proved to be a good way of discussing concerns.

Coun Hughes says: “I appreciate there is a lot of pressure on parents to push their kids to succeed and, of course, schools are judged on the exam league tables, but I can also see that schools recognise that exam time is a difficult time and many have put things in place to try to alleviate that tension and stress.”

If a parent has serious concerns about how their child is coping, Coun Hughes agrees with the Young Minds advice that the first port of call should be the family GP.

If the family do not want to raise the matter with their own doctor, they should be aware that Darlington has a lead GP in adolescent and childhood mental health, Dr Micaela Young, who is based at the Denmark Street practice.

One annual event – the Friday night when school leavers celebrate the end of secondary school – can be a flashpoint for alcohol-related incidents.

Coun Hughes urges parents to think twice about making matters worse.

She says: “I have a big message to the parents who think it is a good idea to buy alcohol for the kids. They should really understand that the risks are too great.”

Over several weekends at the end of May, Operation Stay Safe will be mounted in Darlington.

It involves rounding up school leavers who are worse off for drink and bringing them back to council premises in Gladstone Street, where they can be looked after by school nurses and social workers until their parents pick them up.

“My final message is that if parents do have concerns about their children, there are places to go and people to contact,” says Coun Hughes.

For advice and information, go to the Young Minds website at youngminds.org.uk