The creation of a grade 9 at GCSE has added to the anxiety that pupils feel about exams, according to a leading mental health campaigner.

Natasha Devon believes a wave of exam reforms have increased the pressure students feel as they go through school

Reformed GCSEs are moving to a numerical grade system, ranging from 9 to 1 with 9 being the highest mark available.

Ms Devon said pupils had told her that this changed made them feel more stressed.

She said: “All of the young people tell me that they understand that it is no different and that a 9 is just an A**, but for reasons that they cannot articulate, it’s definitely much more stressful.

“There have been loads of changes to the education system since 2010, but specifically over the past five years, and the exams are the end point of all that.  

“When we talk about exam stress, we have to take into account the fact that that stress builds up over terms and academic years, and that children are being measured on a really, really narrow set of criteria now that leaves a lot of them thinking that they are stupid in some way.”

She said it was important that schools taught children in an environment in which they understood that it was OK to fail, and that pupils would still be valued.

Ms Devon is performing sessions tomorrow on pupils’ mental health at the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference in Manchester.

She is a campaigner on mental health issues and a regular columnist for Tes.

Earlier this year, Ms Devon warned that schools and pupils should not be judged on grades alone.

Last year, a survey revealed that nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of parents with children in Year 10 and Year 11 have said that the regrading of GCSEs has added to their child’s stress levels. 

A Mumsnet survey has also revealed that 70 per cent of parents with children in those school years said that their child was worried about their GCSEs.