Hector Georgiou
We’ve all heard phrases like “just study” or “your future depends on this” from parents or teachers at some point in our lives. But how helpful are these words really?
Do they actually push students to focus on their studies and the Pancyprian Exams, or do they trigger the opposite reaction, creating resistance and stress that leads to outcomes nobody wants?
The paper spoke to school psychologist Giorgos Pogiatzis, final-year students Marina and Konstantinos, former examinee Adriana, and parent Argyro, in an attempt to capture how each side experiences Cyprus’ high-stakes exam culture.
“Effort matters, not pressure”
School psychologist Giorgos Pogiatzis says students don’t need another reminder of how important exams are — they already know it, often to an excessive degree.
What truly calms teenagers, he explains, is not advice or pressure, but the sense that even if they struggle or fail, they will not lose their parents’ love, acceptance, or sense of security.
He warns that phrases that constantly emphasize the importance of exams can actually place a heavier psychological burden on students than the exams themselves.
Instead, he says, the healthier message is simple: effort has value, and a child’s worth is not defined by exam results.
Fear, stress and exhaustion
Seventeen-year-old Marina, a final-year student in Nicosia, describes this period as physically and mentally exhausting.
She talks about packed tutoring schedules and daily obligations, saying the entire preparation process is emotionally draining.
When asked whether she believes her future depends on these exams, she answers yes, at least to a certain extent.
She says students must try their best to secure entry into their first-choice university.
While she feels supported by her parents, she says the school environment increases her anxiety.
What she fears more, she explains, is both the difficulty of the exam papers and the possibility of an unwanted result.
Parents under pressure too
“Of course I would be upset for her, but I would offer alternatives; nothing ends with the Pancyprians,” says Argyro, mother of a final-year student.
She describes her daughter as highly anxious and deeply affected by expectations.
Argyro says she tries to encourage her to take breaks and go out, but her daughter often feels that even a short break is “lost study time.”
She also acknowledges the intense competition students face, not only from exams but also from pressure coming from both school teachers and private tutors.
“I feel like I’m losing myself”
Eighteen-year-old Konstantinos says he does not believe the Pancyprian exams will fully define his life but admits they will influence his professional path.
He says the pressure has started affecting him personally, even creating distance from family and friends.
“I feel a lot of stress. I feel like I can’t cope,” he says.
Unlike some others, he feels supported at home but says school pressure is constant.
What scares him most, he admits, is not only the exams themselves but also the results, because failure, he says, would first disappoint himself and then others.
Life after the exams
Adriana, now 24 and working in the private sector, remembers the experience as overwhelming.
“It feels like the end of the world at the time,” she says, “because you think there are no second chances.”
Looking back six years later, she says the stress and pressure were not worth it.
Are there second chances?
Psychologist Pogiatzis says the idea of a “second chance” can ease pressure, because it reminds students that one result is not final.
But he warns the issue is more complex.
For many young people, the real anxiety is not just the exam; it is what failure is believed to represent about their identity, future, and social value.
Even when retakes or alternative paths exist, the emotional weight of “failure” often remains.
Do exams really define the future?
Many students believe, or are made to believe, that final exams determine their entire future.
Pogiatzis says that in a climate of economic uncertainty and constant comparison, exams take on a symbolic meaning far beyond their actual purpose.
If a student does not achieve their goal, he explains, what matters most is ensuring they do not internalize it as a final judgment on their life or value.
Learning to handle failure, he adds, starts long before the exam itself, by understanding that setbacks, changes in direction, and second attempts are part of life, not the end of it.
Social media and rising pressure
The rapid rise of social media is also reshaping how teenagers view success.
According to Pogiatzis, exposure to influencers and content creators who appear successful outside traditional education paths can lead students to question the value of exams and schooling itself.
On one hand, social media intensifies pressure by constantly showing “perfect lives” and achievements.
On the other hand, it can also distance some young people from education altogether, as they see success, recognition, and income being achieved outside the traditional academic route.
