3. Stay calm
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is known for his lotus yoga pose celebration after scoring a goal, inspired by his love of meditation. In an interview, he said: “Sometimes I think it’s also important just to relax your head… Some relax by watching TV and that’s fine. It’s very individual. But I like to meditate.”
The rest of the City and Chelsea players will have their own ways to stay calm on the countdown to kick off, whether its listening to music, meditating or chatting with teammates. Our exam experts say you should try to relax, have a laugh with your friends, and go in to your exam with a positive mindset. Remember that exam results don’t define you.
4. Keep an eye on the clock
FA Cup finals aren’t won in the first ten minutes, but they can definitely be lost! That’s why teams like Man City and Chelsea will have put plans in place to manage the full 90 minutes of the game. Whether it’s making substitutes at the right moment, switching to be more defensive when protecting a lead, or choosing the perfect moment to launch a counter attack, correct game management can help them achieve cup success. Much like the FA Cup final, you should have good time management in place for your exams.
There should be a large clock in the exam room – make sure you can see it from where you’re sitting. At the start of your paper, you can plan how long you want to spend on each question. Our top tip is to divide the time you have for your exam by the amount of marks in your paper, so sixty marks in one hour is one minute per mark – but make sure to allow enough time to make your plan, read the paper and to check your answers at the end. Getting the timings right can make a real difference and help avoid a last minute panic to rush through the rest of the paper.
5. Don’t dwell on your last exam
Sadly, one team will walk away from Wembley without the trophy. But with Manchester City still fighting for the league title and Chelsea pushing for a European spot, whoever loses will want to put their defeat behind them and focus on their next match.
If you do feel disappointment after an exam, or think you’ve messed up, then remember this: You can’t change what’s happened in the past, so once you leave the exam hall, try not to think about what you could have done differently. Instead, put all your energy into focusing on your next exam. If you do think that you made a mistake on your last paper then learn from it and make sure you don’t make the same mistake on your next exam!
For more exam tips, head to our Exam Essentials collection.