In one secondary school in the North West, one in three teenagers have admitted to drinking alcohol to cope with GCSE stress. Others smoke or use drugs to alleviate the pressure of coursework and looming exams.
New research carried out by educational psychologist, Dr Pamela Taylor, has found that more than a quarter of pupils approaching GCSEs experience high levels of school-related stress. The study questioned 172 year 11 students, aged 15 and 16, from a northern school about what they found stressful in the run-up to GCSEs and how they coped.
The students said the main pressures they experienced stemmed from the large volume of coursework they were given and clashing hand-in dates. Most of the teenagers said they managed to cope with school-related stress by listening to music, watching television, doing sport and exercise and even walking the dog. However, 30 per cent revealed that they drank alcohol to alleviate the pressure, while 16 per cent said they smoked cigarettes and six per cent used drugs.
This is a wake up call to schools who probably assume that alcohol, tobacco and even drugs are part of a youth culture of experimentation and friendship patterns rather than an aspect of stress relief. We’d assume their use is recreational or to do with image and peer expectations rather than coping with pressure.
I’d be interested in carrying out the survey with Year 11 at South Dartmoor to see if we have similar issues and acting on them where we can. We already publish coursework and exam deadlines and we try to space them.
But there is no doubt in my mind that we have the hardest working generation of young people and teachers in our schools at present, and that the pressure on a school’s Year 11 to perform has never been higher. As a Sports College, we make mental and physical health a priority- even offering Friday evening sport for the staff in case they face similar temptations at the end of a stressful week! Now… where did I put that corkscrew….
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2 comments:
While students may drink to alleviate stress, as you mentioned yourself, it is part of youth culture. it must be true to a certain extent that they only drink due to a perceived idea that this is a acceptable stress reliever. Is not a more suitable solution is to offer greater support in dealing with stress effectively? Coursework and exam pressure is based, predominantly, around achieving success, however it also gives much needed preparation for multi-tasking and coping with multiple deadlines, a skill which will surely help in the long term. By simply attempting to remove the causes of stress, students may lose the opportunity to find long term solutions to an issue which will almost certainly be an aspect in their broader lives.
I totally agree that exams and coursework deadlines get me really stressed out, however I don't think that alcohohl and drugs are nessersary to calm down. Isn't it better to prevent stress by drawing up a plan of when you will do your coursework and then sticking to it. By limiting the amount you do but knowing that you have done enough at the end of each session you can relax knowing that everythiny will be done by the deadline and you will still have times in between to relax and have some spare time.
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