Bloom: helping students at De Lisle College cope with exam pressure

 

De Lisle College were conscious of the pressure felt by young people during exam time and proactively sought to address this by providing Bloom for their Year 11 and 13 students, ahead of their mock exams. Throughout February and March, 316 students attended virtual and in-person workshops led by one of our Bloom Training Associates who observed:

“The stress and anxiety felt by young people at this stage in their education can be very acute – essentially because they feel their futures are determined by their results. This not only has a negative impact on their wellbeing but can also hinder performance.”

– Sarah Church, Bloom Training Associate

Having completed the workshop, 88% of students confirmed they could use the tools in their lives and felt confident to support their friends with exam stress. One student attested that the workshop helped him to collect his thoughts, which ensured “a calm, centred mind ready for the exams” which he thought would have the dual benefit of “reducing stress and the prospect of having a blank mind in the exams.”

Assistant Headteacher Rebecca Jinks endorsed the tools and resources delivered during the workshop, observing students proactively applying what they learnt:

"A number of students were taken by Sarah’s advice about breathing exercises, as they could see it really helping them when feeling stressed preparing for exams. One student tried it and found it helped to calm her down."

– Rebecca Jinks, Assistant Headteacher, De Lisle College

To learn more about the work our Bloom team do across the UK, download our full impact report here.