Leaving cert preparations: Keep mindful of exam stress

WITH the Leaving and Junior Certificate exams looming, stress levels among teenagers are surely stratospheric.

They’ve done their lessons; they’re busy revising, but it’s all been about academic achievement. Imagine if, during the year, they’d been taught some mindfulness meditation too?

In England, such courses are becoming commonplace. The first school to try this was Tonbridge school in Kent following a course designed by Oxford and Cambridge psychologists. The benefits were enormous. Through mindfulness, the pupils were able to concentrate better; and be more confident in their dealings with teachers and friends. Making them less stressed, there were obvious benefits at exam time.