With schools reopening nationwide, FindTutors — part of GoStudent — has unveiled a set of expert-backed strategies for easing the transition into the new academic year.
Creating a Healthy Routine
The early weeks of term can bring tiredness, distraction, and nervousness, says educator and psychopedagogue Nani Conde. She recommends consistency, celebrating early achievements, and maintaining clear communication between parents and teachers.
Psychologist and coach Sandra Palo advises parents to create an engaging, visually appealing timetable to help children embrace responsibility. “Routines are not a prison, they’re a map that provides order and confidence,” she notes.
Regaining Focus After the Holidays
To improve concentration, Palo recommends brief, stimulating exercises like crosswords and puzzles, while keeping study areas organised and calm. “Concentration is like a muscle. If you don’t train it, it weakens. If you exercise it, it grows stronger,” she explains.
Conde suggests enhancing focus through family-based activities like reading and drawing, combined with short, structured study periods of 10-20 minutes, interspersed with regular breaks.
Calming Nerves and Reducing Anxiety
For students feeling nervous, Conde advises shifting the focus to positive aspects of the school year — making friends, new experiences, and exciting opportunities — while practising simple breathing techniques to relieve tension.
“Fears are like traffic lights. Sometimes they turn red to make us stop and reflect, but sooner or later they turn green again so we can move forward,” Palo reassures.
Encouraging Confidence and Easing Academic Pressure
According to the experts, prioritising effort, rewarding small wins, and avoiding overwhelming workloads in the initial weeks are key to student wellbeing.
A GoStudent-FindTutors study found that personalised learning and tutoring can significantly improve students’ performance and confidence, providing valuable early support.
“Starting the year with additional support – through tutors, mentors or private lessons – reduces uncertainty and builds confidence. In many cases, this early reinforcement is the key to transforming stress into motivation,” explains Albert Clemente, CEO of FindTutors.
The 2024 WHO report highlights growing academic pressures on teenagers, with teachers increasingly calling for emotional wellbeing programmes in schools to tackle these challenges.
“Students face this month as a period of transition. Routines change, academic and social demands increase, and now they must also adapt to an increasingly digitalised world. Without proper support, it is easy for them to begin the year with insecurity,” Clemente concludes.
