There’s tension in the air as the start date hurtles forward with inexorable force. You can see it in the hunched shoulders, creased foreheads, and faces set granite-hard with crippling anxiety.

Yes, exam season is almost upon us. But I’m not talking about the young people who will actually be sitting A-levels and GCSEs this summer – I’m describing their parents, like me, currently in a state of suspended agitation as we attempt to cheerlead our teenagers through to the finish line.

As a mother of four, you’d think I’d be used to the exam build-up by now. Our older two, Sam, 23 and Max, 20, have long since been through GSCEs and A-levels – and are now in the throes of university exams (though, thankfully for my stress levels, away from home)…. read more here