Priory’s Exam Stress Workshops Address Rising Student Anxiety
Published 12 May 2025
The pressure to excel in school is rising. In 2024, 63% of 15-year-old girls and 43% of 15-year-old boys globally reported feeling academic pressure (WHO, 2024). For many, this pressure leads to exam anxiety. In response, British mental health provider Priory launched an exam stress workshop to help students cope.
- Priory’s Exam Stress Workshop: Priory’s two week workshop, comprising of four lessons (costing £195, or $229) aims to help students (over 18) better understand the root causes of exam stress and build coping strategies. The programme is developed and taught by Priory’s therapists and based on the principals of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). At the start of the two-week programme, students will have a 30-minute one-to-one session with a therapist to draft individual goals. Afterwards, students partake in four online group workshops focusing on psychoeducation (learning about how the mind works) around anxiety and stress, grounding techniques, worry management, and how to prevent feeling exam anxiety again down the line.
The workshops coincide with the 2025 exam season in the UK, which runs from 12 May to 24 June. - Exam Stress Widespread: Priory’s workshop could be a needed service for many British students, as 85% experienced exam anxiety in 2024, and 25% said their exam anxiety was unbearable (SaveMyExams, 2025).
Despite widespread exam anxiety, 71% of UK students experiencing it have never sought help to manage it (SaveMyExams, 2025). Only 10.6% of UK students say their top method to relieve anxiety is to seek counselling; instead, most students (52.7%) talk to their friends about anxieties (SaveMyExams, 2025).
The low adoption of counselling among students may be due to the high costs associated with therapy. This presents an opportunity for schools and universities to offer exam stress counselling, lessons on managing anxiety and stress, or courses on supporting friends who are struggling with exam stress.