Helping students through the exam season.

Exam season is not only stressful for students, it can also put a strain on the whole family. As parents, it can be hard to know what is the best way to offer some additional support for your children,so here are five ways that you can help relieve some of the pressure.

1. Set aside time each week to help them. Some young people might like help being tested on the information they've learnt, or from going over a practice essay they've done. Others might just prefer to go on a short walk with you to get out the house.

2. Help them learn how to revise. This is crucial, as learning is a very individual process and it can be discouraging if a person feels as if they're putting in 100% and not seeing results. If you're not sure of different revision techniques then there are plenty of YouTube videos that cover this topic.

3. Gently encourage them to revise. Nagging will only cause friction, resentment and often discourage revision. A good way to subtly motivate them can be taking them to buy a few items of stationary, this won't cost a fortune but might make the prospect of revising slightly less boring!

4. Make sure family time doesn't revolve around revision. Whilst it's tempting to keep asking about how their revision is going at mealtimes and other family events, this can often add to the stress that they're already under, try to limit the amount of time you spend talking about exams.

5. Encourage them to get enough sleep and exercise. Although cramming works for a lucky few, it is not a suitable technique for the vast majority of us, with both sleep and exercise proven to be pivotal in regards to performance.

Iola Sterling Palmer - student and Liberal Democrat candidate