BellaOnline Forums Family Adolescence Preparing for Exams

Here in the UK students in year 11 are preparing to sit the GCSE exams. Two strong messages are given to students, 'do your best these exams are important to your further education' or...... 'it is not the end of the world if you don't reach expectations'!
In essence both of the messages are true.

Every year students have to hear the national press report that exams are becoming easier, yet the truth is students stress unbelievably in their endeavours to achieve good grades.
As a parent who has taken teenagers through exams I felt that one of my roles was to provide a calm, clean, clutter free environment for my kids to revise.
Do other parents have any tips to pass on to others?

With experience as a parent, a teacher and a perennial student, my three top tips.

Short bursts of intensive concentration (20 minutes) are worth more than an hour of letting your mind wander.

Concentration means reprocessing important material by diagrams, bullet points or some other form of thinking about it. (Refer back to the syllabus or defining material for what's important.)

Winding down the night before an exam is important. Don't reread the notes late into the night. It doesn't help, and it ups the panic level an drops the alertness. A good night's sleep is the best preparation. I used to tell my students that I had taken many, many exams in my life and never - no, not once! - had I ever learned anything the night before that helped me in any way. (And I nearly missed one once by being so tired that I didn't hear the alarm!)

In the UK teenagers are currently taking their exams. Many parents are concerned that this is a stressful time. When my children were sitting their exams I would encourage them to take time out from serious study. One of my son's loved ice skating. I ensured that time was available so he could still ice skate whilst continuing his study. He told me 'it really cleared my brain' (sic)
How does your teenager clear their brain?