I also understand that exams and moments of pressure are a part of life. I do believe that it is important that young people and young adults are equipped with the inner resources to manage stressful moments such as exams and assessment in school. 

Therefore, I'm writing this post to provide a bit of guidance to parents who may feel unsure of how to help their child as they enter exam season, or as a year 10 who might be writing the CAAs for the first time this year.

Meet Alex. Alex was a year 9 student who felt pretty lost. Year 8 had been a big year with lots of friendship changes and changes about how Alex felt about themselves. Sport had been a big part of how Alex stayed involved at Intermediate school but  an ex-friend was on the one team Alex might have considered trying out for, and so it didn’t seem like an option.  It didn't help that every day at college seemed like a repeat of the last: wake up, go to school, come home, do homework, sleep, and repeat. Something was missing…