Combating exam stress, and studying efficiently by Lauren Cudjoe, Reigate College

Amaki Doku, current university student, shares insight on how to combat exam stress and revise efficiently, based on her personal experiences with GCSE and A-Level Examinations.

'My 'go-to' revision method was: I would write down the notes first, record the notes, write them into flashcards with questions on the back, and then test myself.'

'Meditating really helped me to find a way of focusing, and really getting to a point where I had a calm environment and wasn't overthinking things, like about all the work I had to do -  because it was a lot of work -  and meditating helped me to block out how stressful it was so I could just relax and re-centre myself.'

'Exercising really helped me with stress because I feel like, when you exercise, it creates some kind of discipline because it has to be consistent, it releases stress and it gives you a goal - it's like a project to better yourself. If you exercise it can help with different aspects of your life, because you have that consistency and determination towards exercising - I think that helped me.'

'I used to go out probably every Friday after school during my GCSE period. I would go up to London, China Town and just hang out with my friends for a bit, and this was just a time for me to unwind for a couple of hours, and go back home and revise, and it was fine to just take a break from studying and have some fun. I think it's important to remember that.'

'It's really important to have breakfast before an exam, just to make sure you are full and alert before the exam. You don't want to be hungry during an exam, it doesn't help you to concentrate, and I think breakfast is one of the most important meals you should have in a day, and if you have that, it's just one less stressful thing you have to think about during an exam.'

'It can be very distracting when you have friends revising together because then you have the tendency to talk, but sometimes being in a group with people who are working on different things can be very motivating because you're with other people.'

'My advice is: find your study technique, really spread out your time, and work within a given time frame. There is an app called 'forest' which you can use, where you can work for 45 minutes and have a 20-minute break or work for 25 minutes and have a 5-minute break. There are other apps as well that can help you with time management, and when you've got that down you can really get a lot done.'

By Lauren Cudjoe