Spare a thought and a prayer in these weeks for New Zealand students spending the rest of the month sitting public NZQA exams.

I have never been a good student, and often felt intimidated and burdened by exams, even though (while failing a good number of exams especially in my high school years) I have passed a few in the years since.

One of the most helpful bits of advice I was ever given when preparing for exams was about the allocation of time during the exam itself: for example, in a ten point question, the first two or three points are much easier to get than the eighth and ninth point. Therefore, in a three hour exam, after 18 minutes on the 10 pointer, STOP and move onto the next question. If you have time later you can always come back and add to and perfect your earlier responses.

Below are three video clip encouragements.

1. Get enough sleep…

2. Laugh and relax…

3. And a few other pointers…