There can be no doubt that school exams can be the cause of considerable anxiety for both students and parents, even at the very best of times. Issues can be compounded by existing emotional, behavioural and physiological conditions that students may be living with. Yet these are not the best of times. Analysis by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) has found that the mental health of our children and young people is as bad now as it has ever been. “As a frontline psychiatrist I’ve seen the devastating effect that school closures, disrupted friendships and the uncertainty caused by the pandemic have had on the mental health of our children and young people”, writes Dr Bernadka Dubicka of RCPsych. As many as 28% more child mental health referrals were made in 2021 as compared to before the pandemic. Moreover, analysis from McKinsey & Company finds that challenges over the last two years have left typical reception students five months behind in mathematics and four months b...