A CHILDREN’S charity is urging young people to talk about exam pressures as new figures have revealed an increase in the number of youngsters receiving counselling ahead of major exam results.

NSPCC’S Childline service revealed the number of young people receiving counselling about A-level and GCSE results nationally rose 20 per cent this year, with a quarter of all sessions delivered this month.

The data also showed there were 1,127 counselling sessions relating to exam results stress in 2015/16 up from 937 the previous year, with girls five times more likely to get in touch than boys.

Today sees thousands of students across Swindon receive their long-awaited A-Level results with GCSE grades coming in next week and calls to Childline are expected to peak.

Child services practitioner Anna Robinson from the NSPCC Swindon branch, in Little London Court, Old Town said exam pressure could have severe emotional and physical impact.

“The stress, the concerns that children go through around their exam results are tied to not getting the grades and the expectation that is placed on them,” she said.

“The impact of their results ranges from struggling to sleep to depression, eating disorders or even self-harming,” she said.

“I expect we’ll see a spike in calls from young people on the day, there’s a lot of anticipation and tension around the big day and it always helps to have people to talk to, which is why calling Childline is a good idea.”

Anna had some advice for young people struggling to cope. in the run-up to exam results

“Thinking about their options, whether it be university, college or work is always helpful and asking their careers advisor at school or college to help them think about their options is another avenue to explore,” she said.

“Young people tend to think their whole future depends on their exam grades. They do not want to disappoint their parents or their peers

“We also want to actively encourage boys and young men to get in touch about anything that’s worrying them, we’re really trying to challenge that social norm that’s been around for so long.”

One 15-year-old boy told Childline: “I feel like I’m going to explode waiting for my GCSE results. I have really high expectations and want to do really well, but I’m scared that I was so stressed doing my exams that I might not have done my best.

“I can’t sleep most nights because I’m constantly thinking about my results and feel like I’ve wasted my summer because this has been in the back of my mind the whole time. I don’t want to feel like a failure.”

There were 287 counselling sessions about exam result concerns delivered in August 2015, up from 213 in August 2014, which is an increase of 35 per cent.

Sharon Copsey, the NSPCC’s regional head of service for South West England said: “The pressure to perform well in exams is being felt by young people across the country and this can be difficult for them to handle.

“Awaiting exam results can cause lots of stress and anxiety for young people. These figures show that We hear from lots of young people each year who are really worried about their results and what the future may hold."

Childline can be contacted on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk.