by David Hodgkinson, Senior Leader at Highgrove Education and former Senior Examiner for an exam board, April 2026
How pupils think, feel and respond under pressure during exams is critical. Character strengths can play a powerful role in helping pupils succeed through preparation, practice and application.
Why do character strengths matter more than ever in GCSEs?
In simple terms, character strengths help pupils stay focused, manage stress and apply what they know when it matters most.
Schools are looking for effective ways to help prepare secondary school students for exams and are increasingly seeking practical tips for teachers preparing students for exams that support both attainment and wellbeing.
Exam anxiety is increasing, particularly post-pandemic, making structured support for confidence and self-regulation even more important. Teachers are balancing rising expectations, increasing pupil need and limited time.
According to the British Psychological Society, the scale of post-COVID exam anxiety is ‘almost unbelievable’, highlighting the importance of building self-regulation and coping skills alongside academic preparation.
Education isn’t only about exams, but performing under pressure is an important life skill. It builds resilience, confidence and independence. This reinforces the importance of preparing for exams not just academically, but emotionally and psychologically.
What do pupils need to succeed in exams?
The character of the person sitting down to take the exam matters just as much as what they know.
To succeed at GCSE, students must be able to structure extended answers and apply knowledge across contexts. They need:
• Secure knowledge: Have they learned and understood key ideas and concepts?
• Depth of understanding: Can they explain and apply what they know?
• Question analysis skills: Can they break down what is being asked?
• Clear thinking under pressure: Can they stay focused in exam conditions?
• Time management: Can they work effectively within constraints?
• Deliberate practice: Have they practised in a way that builds confidence?
How does a strengths-based approach improve exam outcomes?
The Amazing People Schools provides a strengths-based framework that develops the whole student and provides a highly effective approach to exam preparation.
Strengths of Community: improving engagement, reducing teacher workload
We often think of revision as a solitary task, but learning together can be far more effective. Encouraging students to work collaboratively on exam questions builds deeper understanding.
• It helps them support each other, encourages peer learning and independence and frees up the staff to support elsewhere.
• They share challenges constructively: Moving from ‘this is hard’ to ‘how can we tackle this together?’
• They support and are supported: Builds confidence and reduces isolation.
Strengths of the Head: building clear thinking
By understanding Strengths of the Head, students recognise the need to develop calmness, presence and a sense of clear thinking.
According to the Education Endowment Foundation, ‘thinking about their thinking’ – metacognition – improves exam performance and long-term learning habits and can lead to an average of +7 months’ additional progress.
• Understanding ideas: Explaining them to others – who ideally aren’t studying the topic – helps to see them from different angles.
• Clear thinking: Essential for interpreting questions accurately in spite of pressure, which helps students.
• Analysis: Students need to practise reading questions precisely and understand what they are being asked to do. This prevents misreading and lost marks.
Strengths of Self-regulation: supporting wellbeing and performance
With increasing focus on student wellbeing, teaching self-regulation is critical, supporting both academic outcomes and emotional resilience. It is also a key strategy for reducing exam stress and anxiety.
Strengths here include:
• Organisation: Creating realistic, structured revision plans – students need to think about when they will revise and factor in rest time and so on.
• Determination: Sticking to the plan, calling on the support of the community when needed and celebrating progress.
• Calm under pressure: Practising in as close to exam-like conditions as possible means this can be achieved during the actual exam.
Strengths of Action: turning revision into results
Action – not intention – feeds and embeds character. When students get stuck, using a strengths-based approach helps prompt the steps needed to move forward.
What action do students need to take?
Of all the strengths needed for exam success, Strengths of Action are essential.
Students need to find out what’s needed – create a list and then commit to it. Engagement is higher if students themselves have created that list.
A common challenge is that pupils revise content but struggle to apply it. A strengths-based approach means they move beyond memorisation to effective application.
There are two key areas:
• Knowledge: Do pupils know what they need to know?
• Application: This involves using acquired knowledge and translating it into solutions, and relates to the clear thinking mentioned earlier. Knowing the facts and then taking action by applying them is crucial.
Student action plan to apply knowledge
• Students need to be determined, resourceful and flexible. And if they veer off the plan, they should reflect and use resilience to bounce back and begin again.
• It’s key that they practise EXACTLY what they’ll have to do in the exam, in a disciplined way. The thinking on knowledge and application can be used to determine what is needed.
It’s important they keep going and to practise until they can’t get it wrong.
Supporting every pupil to succeed, including SEND
A strengths-based approach is particularly effective for pupils with SEND and those with lower confidence, as it focuses on what pupils can do as opposed to what they can’t. This aligns with growing expectations around inclusive practice and ensuring all pupils can access and succeed in exams. Comparison doesn’t help. Progress does.
Understanding and applying character strengths gives pupils a powerful toolkit for exam success and beyond. Working collaboratively, thinking clearly, managing themselves effectively and taking action, pupils are far better prepared, not just for exams, but for life. We offer a proven way to help students recognise and build the strengths needed for exam preparation. 👉 Book a quick, no-pressure chat to see how you can improve GCSE outcomes while supporting pupil wellbeingFinal thoughts: a whole-school approach to exam success
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