Top Student Battles With Anxiety During Exam Season | Educating | Our Stories 

Can I clarify for most people who don’t understand that this was filmed SIX years ago so it doesn’t matter if the GCSEs are cancelled this year he’s already done them

As the real Joel I feel like I should let you guys know this was a solid six years ago and Charlie's all good now! He got through it, and then through sixth form and uni. If anyone is struggling then know you don't have to go through it alone. It always helps to just confide in someone and talk something through with a person you trust 😊

I don’t even know him and I’m so proud of him

the school should support him more, like allowing him to go in a separate room with an invigilator away from everyone else

Not gonna comment anything about Charlie because it's already been said, but Joel is actually a top guy. From the limited amount we see here, he's as good a friend you could ask for in a time of crisis

Honestly having anxiety and depression is the hardest thing you can have , like they say your biggest enemy is yourself , no one can get to you the way you get to yourself , it’s usually people that are so smart and so good at certain things get anxiety which can rip that talent away from them

i don’t know this kid but he deserves the world

“we can’t afford for him not to do his gcses”...to bump up our overall ofsted results

From someone who gets pretty good grades, I get where he's coming from. School can be so damaging to your mental health and being one of the top students is hard. Teachers wonder why you don't come to some lessons due to stress, you feel like your work isn't done to your best ability but you have no energy. It's difficult but you can get through it!!

This is exactly the way I feel at university now, scared to physically sit the exam, not scared of the exam itself. You’re not alone Charlie or anyone else reading this

I feel like they glowed up ALOT after school, I can just tell

The deep breaths before entering the class.... I felt that in my soul

6:08 anyone notice how what he contributed was his feelings inside

This is what exams do to ppl. Teenagers shouldn’t have to go through this

This was absolutely me when I was 12 years old. I used to have to go to the bathroom three times in an hour to calm down because I just had to get out of the room. It got to the point where I refused to go to the classroom and did the whole school day in a room by myself. I always describe it as someone’s got a balloon right behind your head and they keep threatening to pop it with a needle but they never do. Just this feeling of apprehension and horrible tension that won’t leave. I’m very lucky that I got it under control by the time I was 13/14 and went through exams without loads of trouble, but if the issues came up when Charlie’s did my GCSEs would have been a complete disaster. School is hard

can we just talk about how amazing his friends are :))

I remember being this way during GCSE's, I came out with an alright set of grades. But when 6th form came around, everything went down hill. The anxiety got 100% worse, I had some of the worst attendance and I was constantly scolded by teachers for it and some of them threw me off the exams. I feel my self-esteam has been permenantly damaged since, I performed poorly even though intellectually I don't believe I am any less capable than someone else. 4 years have passed since 6th form, I've been a bit of a lost mess since. I wish I had all that love and support the teachers gave to charlie when I was in school. I recently started studying A-levels again with an online college, wish me all the best I guess if you come across this message. x

When he said “sorry about this morning” and the woman said “okay” she should’ve said he doesn’t need to apologise and to try not to worry about it because it’s not his fault and he can’t help it and he shouldn’t have to apologise or feel the need to apologise.

Charlie's mates were fucking spot on, "mate, I am so proud of you" - Just the small things can have a massive effect on someone's confidence and self esteem. Great video.

I’m so proud of him and I’m rooting for him to go and have a great life

Very relatable, with myself being a top student in my class, I have so much anxiety and nervous energy every day. Please stay strong fellow Y11's, (well anyone really going through exams or anxiety overall)

His best friend reminds me of Sinjin from Victorious😂😂😂

01:46 Jordan’s walk is everything

he reminds me of Charlie from perks of being a wallflower :)

This school is so supportive compared to what Experienced at school

This lad needs more support from specialised people that understand anxiety. It isn't something you can just snap out of. As an anxiety sufferer and training therapist, I am so determined to help young people like this.

His school is so brilliant for supporting his anxiety, when I had my anxiety attacks at school the "support" staff just told me to "suck it up and deal with it" and "be a man about it" needless to say that really didn't help.

I can relate to this guy on so many levels, but in GCSEs I ended up skipping a couple of the exams. I regret doing that so much and I regret never seeking the help I needed. I can now happily say I'm about to start training to become a Special Constable in the police force, something which even applying for has been so challenging for me. I'm so happy that mental health and wellbeing is talked about as much as it is these days, and that the help is out there for people like Charlie and I!

20 years ago i failed all my exams , all my teachers were disappointed with me because I was 'A' Student . I had a very bad anxiety attack during exams . I didn't tell them what was happening to me because i thought they might think i was crazy . So i told them i never revised .

1:46 he just be vibin doe

i was exactly like this at school always having panic attacks and had really really REALLY bad social anxiety so i never asked the teachers for help if i left something at home i couldnt get the nerve to ask them to ring my parents and bring it up so i ran all the way back home and stayed there for a few days because i was to scared in case i got yelled at and i never thought the good thoughts i always said what if so i left and now im getting home schooled and im doing sooooo much better now my anxiety is still the same also my social anxiety is still the same but im happier

exams are hard enough for the average student so I can only imagine what he is feeling..

4:45 omg it’s the guy the girls were fighting over in that other episode

OKAY BUT CHARLIE IS VERY GOOD LOOKING

I was the same. I went from being the top in the year to failing due to panic attacks. I thought my life was over. I managed to get into uni and got my maths degree, and now get to teach high school kids with anxiety also. Hopefully I’m helping. Ended up having ADHD that was undiagnosed.

Charlie seems like a really nice kid; it's great that he has good friends and teachers supporting him.

Luckily for him, he’s just got all his predicted target grades- I bet he’s looking at 9s all round.

He explains things almost exactly as I experience them and although it made it hard to watch I 100% empathise with how hard it can be especially with the pressure schools put on people to get good grades now

This is incredibly relatable. I was the top student in my class and felt an immense amount of pressure from it. I think I have anxiety, but no one in my class really knows because I don't tell anyone. They just think I'm an awkward person. My only escape from this is music. Whether it's making songs, playing an instrument, covering songs or just listening to music, it brings my thoughts back together at least for a moment. I love the technical side of it and being able to make people smile through doing what I love is wonderful. I want to be like this person so bad. Might I add that he is an incredibly skilled musician.

I had the best teachers when I was in year 11. I had a panic attack before an English language exam and I was throwing up horrifically because that’s what happens when u have panic attacks. Anyways after throwing up all the way to school a teacher met me outside, held the sick bag while I was vomiting bile. She basically carried me to the exam hall, told the invigilators that I had to sit right by the door. She sat with me in the exam room until she had to leave. I threw up throughout the exam and she met me afterwards walked me to my mums car and I went home. I was expected a D for English language and got a B. The teacher was so dedicated and was so proud of my grade. Honestly the hardest moment of my life that I look back on with a positive attitude.

I'm going back Tuesday and my Anxiety is through the roof, I'm going into year 9. wish you all luck :D

Im tired of people saying don’t let your anxiety take control as a person who has missed an entire semester of school because of extreme anxiety disorder and panic attacks and have dealt with anxiety disorders and depression for the last 5 years I can’t just block an anxiety attack my anxiety isn’t like a shadow I can fight off it’s a part off you

haven't even watched the whole video but all i wanna is hug him

I'm 35 and anxiety didn't exist when I was in school. In fact anything mental health wise was just deemed miss behaving or you where a simpleton.

Poor boy so proud of him good on him

How is there so many people not watching this whole video man 😭 He literally gets his results at the end and they’re in letters not numbers, this was filmed years ago

can i just say when we were at school i would have panic attacks the night before school , the morning i had to go to school. it was a big giant mess i would get such bad anxiety and there was so much stress. But now in lockdown so much stress has been taken off my shoulders and i haven’t had as many panic attack as i have when i’ve been in school.

I can relate so much as a top grade 9 student who struggles with stress and anxiety that literally makes me physically sick at times because I feel like there’s so much pressure from everybody expecting me to do well.

You just know him and his friends are gonna have the biggest glow up period

I knew a girl who studied hard. She got 93-98% in every test. Every time a result of this high was handed to her, she had no reaction. I was in her physics class and she got a 99% from mock exams. No reaction. She once told my friend on a school morning that she slept for 3 hours and that she studied for 12 hours.

He is so brave to do the performance🥺 I’m taking music gcse and just thinking about the performance gives me butterflies

I have the same thing but my teacher wouldn't ever let me leave and the school wouldn't sort something out so I ended up homeschooling.

I understand HIM SO MUCH! I went through the exact same thing ... it’s not good at all... I was good at studies... but I couldn’t sit in the huge... cold, hall and give the exams to save a life... I’m so happy I got the chance to give exams in a separate classroom... now i passed my GCSE’s last year...

Why are all these educating programmes so really good schools where teachers care & support the kids. Can't relate.

I love them, him, the staff for understanding. What a good insight to what school (regardless of where you are) does to your mental health

2020 corona kids where u at?

two days after i tried to take my own life at 15 teachers saw fit that i had time to mentally rest for those two days and had no support. Seeing how this school aids children with their mental health is so comforting

Wow, I also struggle with anxiety and this is amazing that he was singing infront of a crowd like that! I could never do that, I do have coping skills and I’m very good in school. It’s just me overthinking and procrastinating! Proud of u champ!🙌

This really uplifted me! I'm 20 now but whilst in school had terrible anxiety and never dealt with it, just took punishments for missing school. I screwed any chances of going to uni up and never performed music in front of an audience like I wanted to and am just starting to recover my life now so well done Charlie! So nice to see how supportive his school and friends are!

4:48 the best thing to hear tbh

1:55 This is a very big mood.

I wish I could just say "sir I need to leave the class" all I get is oh WHY! ?! It's not that bad I will come help you

Can we just stop and notice how good they are at singing

I literally saw myself in him. I don't know if I have anxiety or not but I was feeling the same way like he did during my entrance exams. I couldn't give many of them cuz of this. But the last one I somehow managed to study properly and gave it. But I'm happy he had his wonderful friends who supported him. I wish I had that.

I feel his pain man

Anxiety is the worst especially when I haven’t been diognosed and everyone thinks I’m attention seeking. Last time I had an anxiety attack I got told off

It gives me anxiety watching this because I know how this entirely feels. I have Aspergers and it really takes it’s toll❤️

i understand why he was so worried about it. i passed out in my mock exams and i got moved to a smaller room where u can have breaks, but im still terrified for the actual gcses haha

This is making me sad Cos we won’t get to experience exams this year🥺 sounds silly Ik Cos they are so stressful but it much be so nice to accomplish the goal you set

This literally happened to me most days and teachers promised false help, then I just had to deal with it on my own.

The dynamic between Charlie and Joel is something I’ve not seen in teenagers, seeing the support his mate gives him shows young people that it’s ok to have these issues, with Charlie all the best

This was literally me. Like it's crazy how similar but I never got better

I suffer from anxiety, I worry constantly about things. I know how he feels x

Social anxiety in the middle of a VERBAL french exam that they make you do in the classroom with everyone else there is a nightmare. I’ve had so many panic attacks and it’s taken me 5 years to learn just to have the confidence to put my hand up to answer a question. And I’m in y10 😕

dont think ive ever related to the way someone shows their anxiety so much. the panic attacks. the not being worried about doing work but actually being in school. i hope hes well

I can relate to this. When I do figure skating competitions I often throw up before competitions.

School is literally shite 🤦🏻‍♀️ I wanted to end my life when I was in school and they made me feel worse...

I am so happy that I’ve watched this because when he described what he felt at the start that’s exactly what I feel every single day 🥺 like he has just read my school day out and it’s like he has just helped me because like I thought I was the only one 🥺💖

the fact that i am like him,ik exactly how he feels...i wish for no one to go through this

It’s hard being the one who needs to revise with other students around you that appear to not work as hard and still achieve similar if not higher grades.

Ima new year 11 and when it comes to internals and exams I have a lot of anxiety and stress but trust me it gets so much better. Once i finish whatever I’m doing I feel so much better

this is so relatable, i also have started to get anxiety and panic attacks recently and its the worst. ive been anxious for a while (Not diagnosed anxiety or anything just i get anxious) aand its so bad... for anyone going through a tough time keep going and stay strong

I wish my teachers supported mental health at school like this instead of ignoring it when I went to them for help for my anxiety and depression

I really hope he carried on with music, dude has talent.

I wish I had these teachers when I was in school

Top lad, i still have anxiety when talking to people sometimes especially within a interview or other professional settings. but what helped me was boxing, may not be for everyone but once i got into the ring and another person was trying to punch me everything else went out the window. Also gave me more confidence in myself by obviously being able to defend myself.

I hope your doing better lad, I know it's been six years but I know exactly what it feels like. Had my first panic attack when I was 9-10 and it ruined my teenage hood... Stayed in doors all the way through my teens, missed school, failed GCSE... Had nothing to my name. The exact way you described it is accurate, legs go loose, vision goes funny, etc. I'm 21 now and I still struggle with some things, but it for sure has had a lasting effect on my mental health to the point I've been diagnosed with depression and other stuff too. If you want to know what I'm doing now, well... I'm actually a Lift Engineer, no qualifications but somehow managed to pull that off haha!

Awww when he was singing 🥺🤞

I don't know why, but it is always the students (at least in my school) who are performing at an 8 or 9 standard who get the most anxious during Exam Season.

I don't have severe anxiety like this kid has but I can relate to him. In my case, my triggers were school, study, and social interactions. I know it didn't show but the anxiety I felt at that time were real and in order to cope with it was to avoid my triggers. During exam seasons, especially during my 3rd and 4th years in college, anxiety was at its highest and since the thought of studying made me feel anxious I avoided studying ( I'd study 30 mins or 1 hour before the exam where I would feel the urgency of studying but prior to that no thank you). I don't know how I survived my college doing this but I did. I remember I had a performance task and it was announced 2 weeks before the actual presentation but I only practiced for it the morning before I perform because just thinking about practicing and the thoughts like "You should do best because people are expecting you to do so" just drained me and I couldnt handle that so, again, I avoided it. The last year of my college where my anxiety was at its peak I tried to avoid going to school because the mere thought of school and meeting the people who caused me stress were very hard for me so I'd rather jail myself in my room and deal with my thoughts, alone. I missed a lot of classes, when I was not absent I would go in late. I'd pass my exams and my requirements but my attendance was kind of sloppy and it had caused me trouble but then I still survived college. Yippie! I'm not saying what I did were the right things to do and I'm not advocating procrastination but I had to do what I had to do to protect myself from totally submitting to my anxiety. My choice of avoidance to my triggers were my choice of happiness. I mean what's the point of total prestige if you were not happy during the process, right?

I relate to this a lot. Being 'clever' is hard. You constantly set yourself unachievable, high standards and compare yourself to anyone. This may not apply to everyone but I feel embarrassed to show my emotions to anyone my age. If I need to leave class to take a break, though it is easy as my teachers know, I don't want anyone to see my weaknesses. It's so easy to get caught up in the stress, pressure and expectations. People need to be kind, appreciative and sensitive to everyone. Those who show their struggles and those who don't both will need help at some point

Bless him, anxiety can be debilitating. Sometimes feeling like your going to actually die.

Who else is addicted to watch this in there recommends lmao me 😂

Omg Charlie is so good at singing

Im in year 11 i had really bad anxiety about exams and walked out of all my mocks now because exams our off i don’t need to worry as much but because i walked out of one exam i felt like I wouldn’t be able to do the others so i didn’t even try in the end i got over it i still feel anxiety about things but i know how to deal with it and its working now i can relate to him massively

you go fella. im in year 9 and not doing good i think im gonna be like this guy lollll

i know exactly what he’s going through, because i went through the exact same thing throughout high school and now in college but as it progresses we find ways to cope :)

I have anxiety, so I know how he feels

Charlie would not belive that we are all watching him and support him!! Very little school in Sibiria village))

If he was so nervous, how did he sing without his lungs collapsing in on themselves? When I get a bit of adrenaline, I can't even make an entire sentence :(