It’s a long standing piece of advice that you cannot work on an empty stomach and that for an exam you should eat plenty of ‘brain-food’ such as oily fish, but does any of this really help when it comes to taking your exams?

A lot of researchhas been done into how hydration effects the ability to concentrate and stay alert and the results strongly indicate that for your brain to be able to perform to its full capability you must stay hydrated by drinking 7 glasses of water daily.

Having a coffee or a tea can help if you’re feeling tired but try not to overdo it as caffeine can dehydrate you and completely avoid ‘energy drinks’ as the caffeine hit in these is far too intense and the rush of sugar means that you can crash fairly quickly after having one.

More than eating a particular food the best advice seems to be to eat enough, ensure that the morning of your exam you have a good breakfast (even if you don’t feel like it!) as with an empty stomach you certainly will feel more sick and will also loose energy and concentration during the exam. So order yourself a bacon butty, a coffee and a big glass of water then take a deep breath and try to relax and do your best.

With some much pressure being put on students to perform well in exams, it should come as no surprise that if they do not achieve the grades they require, they often fall in to depression.If a student has a career path in mind or a university course that they want to attend, they may haven’t been given grades that need to be met in order to continue down that path. If these grades are not achieved, some students think that it means they need to rethink their chosen career. This is not always the case as there are often many other routes available to still end up with the same job at the end of it. The first thing to do is to contact the further education facility (University / College etc) or employer and discuss your grades. Be honest with them and explain why you feel you have not achieved what you needed to and what you would be able to do, such as go on further training courses, if they wish you to do so. You may find that they are still happy for you to attend and the worry had been for nothing. Alternatively, speak to a careers advisor who will be able to discuss you options with you in regards to alternative paths you can take.

Exams can be an extremely stressful time for students of all ages and knowing where to start when it comes to revising for them can be nearly as daunting as the exams themselves. The best way to structure your revision is to create a timetable of all the subjects you need to revise for and how long to spend on each. This should be as detailed as possible, as spending a night or two creating this can save you days of wasted time. Firstly write down all the subjects that you have exams for and then make a note of how long you have before the exam day. Create a timetable detailing the amount of free time you have in a day when you can study for the exam. It is often best to split these times in to one hour blocks and be sure to give yourself a 10 min break in between each block. Over revising and trying to cram to much in can actually have the opposite effect.

With many of the GCSE exams coming to a close, students all over the UK are relaxing and getting ready to start their summer holidays. Exam times can be an extremely stressful time and can a serious affect on a student if they have anxiety or generally worry about stressful situations. It is important to prepare for exams well in advance and allow yourself enough time to properly revise whilst allowing for scheduled breaks. Research has shown that students, who do not take breaks regularly from revision, tend to slow down their intake of information and much time can be wasted.

When you have completed your GCSE’s think of a way that you can unwind, many people opt to go away for a few days or go on a shopping spree, whilst others would rather just chill out at home. Whatever way you feel you want to relax, enjoy this time before returning to school or looking for a job. Hopefully all the hard work you have put in will pay off.