Hundreds of children counselled by Childline's East Midlands volunteers due to overwhelming exam stress

Scores of young people are turning to Childline for help as they struggle to cope with the pressure of exam stress.

New figures from the NSPCC-run service reveal that its East Midlands base in Nottingham delivered 339 counselling sessions on exam stress to children in the UK in 2016/17 – a rise of 27 per cent from 266 sessions in 2015/16.

Nationally across its 12 bases Childline carried out 3,135 counselling sessions in 2016/17.

More than a fifth of these took place in May as pupils faced upcoming exams with many telling counsellors they were struggling with subjects, excessive workloads and feeling unprepared.