School counsellors across Northern Ireland have reported an unusually high number of Year 12 pupils referred to pastoral care services in the past year, as many sit their first formal public examinations since the pandemic disrupted transfer arrangements.

Linda-Jayne Hoey, a counsellor at Belfast High School, said this year group was admitted to schools based on non-academic criteria and did not sit a transfer test. She said some pupils have told her they are experiencing imposter syndrome, feeling they did not have to prove themselves in the same way as previous cohorts.

Brian Banks, a teacher at Hazelwood College in Newtownabbey and junior vice president of the NASUWT teaching union, said the central importance of exam performance has become overinflated. He said pupils experience enormous pressure from parents, employers, universities, politicians and schools, and that even high achievers feel relief rather than joy. Teachers also face pressure because schools are measured by their students' exam results.

Childline recorded 728 counselling sessions across the UK between April 2025 and March 2026 in which a young person expressed worry about exam results, with a peak of 142 sessions last August. Cormac Nolan from Childline said Northern Ireland accounted for its share of those calls. He said some pupils feel underwhelmed by low grades while for others it becomes a crisis, and that the reaction depends on the support they receive at home. He advised young people to think about a range of options ahead of results day.

One former pupil who found an alternative path is Rainers Ragainis. After receiving two Es and a D at A-level, he felt crushed and believed higher education was out of reach. He later enrolled in a computing and IT course with the Open University, studying at his own pace with less emphasis on traditional exams. He graduated in 2025 and now works in IT and customer support. He said that not getting the grades he wanted did not define him and that university is not the only route to a career.

Mr Banks said it is a difficult balance to show students that good grades are useful while also reassuring them that they can build a successful life without certain qualifications.