Waiting for exam results is a unique kind of stress. So is receiving the results. Panic, anxiety fear about the future, guilt, and despair are just some of the feelings that people might be going through.

High expectations from parents, teachers or friends can push students to the brink, particularly when they feel the results do not quite meet those expectations.

Pipers Corner School pupil Rachael Bromage-Smith, 18, is waiting for her A-level results in English literature, business studies and sociology, and agrees that the pressure can begin to take its toll on pupils waiting for crucial A-level results.

She said: "I'm so stressed I'm tearing my hair out.

"I'm worried at the moment, but I'll be even more anxious the day before I go to get my results and when I'm waiting at school to see them.

"I need to get two Bs and a C to get into university, so I'm really hoping I can get that.

"Lots of people in my year are really, really worried about their results, and certainly seem pretty stressed out."

John Maynard, chairman of governors at Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, said the extra task of AS-level exams in the lower sixth form put an unnecessary burden on pupils.

He added: "The previous system whereby the pupils had a year in the lower sixth to get used to a different way of learning, was a lot more useful in the long run.

"The extra exams they have to sit are an unnecessary pressure, and it means their whole school career is taken up with preparing for exams.

"I think that girls and boys react to the pressures of exams in different ways girls could tend to feel the stress more as they may want to please more.

"That is not to say that boys do any better, because they don't. It is just a different way of dealing with the burden. The issue of exam stress is not one that has really come up at governor meetings, but I am sure it is one members of staff take very seriously."

Laura Eele, 17, is a pupil at Lord William's School in Thame, and has finished her first year of A-levels, and is waiting for the results of her AS-levels in art, history and English.

She said the school does help out with exam stress and even provides counselling for pupils.

She added: "I am worried about getting my results. We didn't get enough study leave before starting them, and we just had to go straight into them really.

"I will need to get two As and a B to get into any art or English course when I do go to university, so the results of my AS-levels are really important to me.

"I know a lot of people who are really worked up about going into school to get the results, but I'm trying not to think about it too much."

Some of the more extreme stress symptoms some students may be feeling include being angry and impatient with close ones, feeling tearful over small events, behaving differently from usual, feeling isolated from people around them, or lacking self-esteem.

The physical symptoms some stressed students could be experiencing include sleeplessness, loss of appetite or irregular eating, panic attacks and difficulty breathing, having a tight, knotty feeling in their stomach, low energy and lack of concentration and having a loss of interest in things around them.

Students experiencing any of these symptoms should seek help by talking to someone they trust, perhaps a friend, teacher or relative. They should also eat healthy food regularly, get exercise, such as walking, running, dancing and sport and get a reasonable amount of sleep.

Students are also being encouraged to contact The Samaritans if they miss their exam grades. The Samaritans offer a confidential, friendly service and are their to listen to problems.

You can contact The Chiltern Samaritans, which serves the Chiltern and Aylesbury Vale, on 01494 432000, or visit the branch at 149 Station Road, Amersham, or email jo@samaritans.org