Resources for people sitting exams

 

August Update: click here for prayers for those receiving exam results and considering their options

 

Facing important exams is never easy. There is a lot to learn, and the pressure can stop us thinking clearly and doing our best.

God cares about everything in our lives, including our exams. Sometimes being quiet and asking for his help can help clear our heads and focus on what we need to do. And if we ask him, he can give us a sense of calm and peace whatever we are going through.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never prayed before – God will listen to you. To help you, this page has links to prayers you can use, and also ideas and resources for your teachers which could be run as collective worship in schools or adapted for a youth group session.

 

Resources for you if you are taking exams

A range of church figures have written a selection of prayers for us that you might find helpful during the exam period. Some can be found below, while three other prayers have been turned into downloadable postcard-size prayer cards, that you could add to your pack of last-minute revision notes.

Download the printable prayer cards here.

 

Loving Lord, I pray:

for the will to do my best each day – exams or not;

to know myself, celebrating what I can do and working at what I need to;

using every part of each day well;

learning from the past in shaping my tomorrow,

keeping at the heart of each day a belief that I am valued with the purpose to become the me you want me to be.

Let me learn well: reaching for my ambition; understanding what is important and believing in who I am and can be.

 

God of all time, we are in the midst of stressful times. Give us grace to see that it is the making of our success, the making of our characters, the making of our selves. We thank you for the gift of all that we are and all that we have the potential to be. Fill us with your spirit that we may grow into those people who are not afraid to try and not afraid to fail. And, loving God of all your people, give us grace to celebrate with all our classmates, families and friends, that as they fail or succeed, they are living, they are trying and they are growing into your perfect love, which casts out all fear.
Amen.

 

These two prayers are adapted from prayers available on the Collective Worship resource produced by the Culham Institute in association with the National Society.

 

Wayne Dixon, a schools worker for Scripture Union in Berkshire, has developed a presentation and related tips focused on his ‘Three P’s for Exams’:

Pray – For help, discipline, determination and peace

Prepare – Draw up a suitable revision timetable and stick to it

Perform – Break up revision periods. Learn the appropriate formulae

You can read the talk and find out much more on Wayne’s ‘Exam Attack’ website.

There is a wealth of practical advice on dealing with revision and exams available on the web, which you could find helpful in addition to material and guidance offered by your school or college. The BBC’s Bitesize series is one of the most well-known.

 

Resources for schools and youth groups

The Church of England has teamed up with the Culham Institute to offer a fresh set of ideas for collective worship (assemblies) dealing with preparing for exams, that could easily be tailored for Christian youth groups or Christian Union meetings.

Each collective worship reflection includes examples of famous people whose lives have reflected something of the theme, a Bible reference to use as a further illustration of encouragement, and links to further information. Read an overview here.

The individual reflections can be accessed by clicking on the titles below:

• Do your best; don’t give up
• If exams are hard for you, think of what you are good at doing too. Build on the whole ‘you’.
• What you do now is important; remember it’s one stage of life
• If you’ve got regrets for not working harder – learn from it
• If there’s too much to remember, focus on what’s important

Other Christian resources to help plan large or small group sessions can be found on Scripture Union’s website, arranged by age group and level of church background.

Teachers and others involved in leading collective worship in schools may also find the exam preparation assembly plan available on the Teachernet website a useful template.

 

Finally, here are two prayers for teachers thinking about the pressures on their class at this time:

 

I don’t suppose you have time for this, Lord, but I am nervous. Not for myself, but for my class.

Today they have that test, Lord; the one that seems to determine their future.

They have worked hard; so have I!

They deserve to do well.

It should not be a problem, but… well, you know this lot, Lord.

They can forget things that normally they know, like their names and the date!

O Lord, they are in there, and there is nothing I can do but worry.

Keep them calm, Lord.

Keep them focused.

Let them do their best.

At this moment they really need your help.

Amen.

 

Lord, this is a key day, for my students and my school.

They need your help, and during the day we may all get so tied up in what we are doing that we forget to ask again.

So be with them, Lord, support and guide. You are all-seeing and all-knowing. Today, Lord, help us to show them your peace. Today, Lord, be the calm in their hearts.

Amen.

 

These prayers are adapted from Pocket Prayers for Teachers, David W Lankshear, National Society/Church House Publishing, 2002

 

 

feedback | contact us | links | site map | copyright & disclaimer | privacy | site help
Supported by Ecclesiastical Insurance Group
Site developed by ILRT