How it works

Two of the cards

1

To yourself

One question at a time. The paper does not know how the last one went.

2

To a friend

Tell me one thing you know. Just one.

The pack has eight of each. Each student picks one for themselves and one for a friend, and keeps them.

1
Fifteen minutes, the week before the first exam.

Read the two sets of cards through together with the form. Each student then picks one card for themselves and one they would want a friend to say to them, and explains why they chose it. Students keep their cards in a pocket, a pencil case or their planner.

2
Show the slip, and say what happens when it is used.

The slip is for a student who is worried that a friend is more than just nervous. They can hand it to any member of staff, before the exam or during it, and the guide explains what to do when one reaches you. Make a point of telling the form that they are allowed to use it.

3
Then the cards wait for the corridor.

The cards are meant for the ten minutes before a paper, when students are waiting and no teacher is around. A student who has read a line in form time is more likely to say it to a friend outside the exam hall.

Exam mornings are often when worries come out. The slip means that a student who is worried about a friend never has to decide on their own whether that friend is okay. When a slip reaches you, find the student it is about before the paper starts if you can, and pass anything that is more than exam nerves to your safeguarding lead the same day.

A look inside

Page one of the pack
Page one of the pack
Page two of the pack
Page two of the pack

Get the resource

Print two pages of cards for each student, so everyone can cut out the two they choose, and a page of slips. Keep a few spares in a drawer through the exam weeks.

Printable PDF

Teacher resource pack

Four pages: the guide, eight cards to say to yourself, eight to say to a friend, and the slips, four to a sheet.

Download

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