YOUNG people in Britain are the most tested in the world. From the age of six children are thrust into a life of constant exams.

This month teenagers across Worcestershire and the rest of the country will start sitting their GCSEs and A-levels, under pressure to get in to the top colleges and universities, while also helping to send their school or college to the top of the league tables.

All of this testing and pressure can be a huge strain on students' emotional and mental health, leading to sleepless nights, eating disorders and other illnesses.

In a pilot scheme in south-east England, nurses and psychologists are being brought in to schools and colleges to help young people deal with the unprecedented levels of exam stress.

Nurses at hundreds of schools in south-east England are being trained to recognise pupils at risk from excessive exam pressure. Vivian Hill, educational psychologist at the Institute of Education in London, said: "There is now a constant process of revision and examination and many pupils do not cope."

Miss Hill said children with "pushy" parents and those in failing schools were most likely to fall ill from stress.

The increased stress on sixth formers is partly a result of the Government's decision in 2001 to divide the A-level into two parts, so pupils now face two years of exams.

But it is not only teenagers who are faced with increased exam pressure. Children as young as nine have been becoming disillusioned with school because of the increasing number of tests. A report by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said league tables were pushing schools to drop interesting lessons in favour of drilling pupils for exams with a spoon-feeding' approach.

Some parents have now taken to sending their children to out-of-school tutoring in order to boost test results. Kumon offers individualised after-school study programmes designed to help children of all ages and abilities to fulfil their potential in maths and English.

Pamela Collins, of the Worcester East Kumon Centre, said: "I have a girl of 11 who gets extremely stressed at the thought of taking a test.

"I think there is too much pressure on children today, and a lot of it comes from the pressure on schools to do well because of league tables."

Mrs Collins said she believed testing children was important to assess their education levels. However, she said too much stress could have an adverse affect.

TIPS FOR COPING WITH STRESS

* Believe in yourself.

* Don't try to be perfect. If you think that "anything less than A+ means I've failed" then you are creating mountains of unnecessary stress for yourself.

* Take steps to overcome problems. If you find you don't understand some of your course material, getting stressed out won't help.

* Don't keep things bottled up.

* Keep things in perspective. The exams might seem like the most crucial thing right now, but in the grander scheme of your whole life they are only a small part.

REVISION TIPS

* Leave plenty of time to revise so that you don't get into a situation of having to do last minute cramming.

* Develop a timetable so that you can track and monitor your progress.

* As soon as you notice your mind is losing concentration, take a short break.

* Don't drink too much coffee, tea and fizzy drinks; the caffeine will hype' you and make your thinking less clear.

* Regular moderate exercise will boost your energy, clear your mind and reduce any feelings of stress.

EXAM TIPS

* Don't panic. It's natural to feel some exam nerves before starting the exam, but getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not be able to think as clearly.

* The quickest and most effective way of eliminating and panic is to close your eyes and take several long, slow deep breaths.

* If your mind goes blank, don't panic! Just focus on slow, deep breathing for about one minute.