Call for calm as thousands of WA Year 12 students start exams Eyes down: Thousands of WA Year 12 students begin their final WACE exams today. THOUSANDS of WA school leavers will start their end-of-year exams today - as experts urge them to keep calm during the most stressful time in their schooling lives. More than 15,500 students will sit exams in the WA Certificate of Education this year, including 13,400 pupils who will sit them in four or more courses. The students are mostly in Year 12, but candidates range in age from 14 to 79. Modern History, Animal Production Systems and Physics are the first written exams to be sat today. WACE exams conclude on Friday, November 22 with Food Science and Technology and Italian. Recently, The Sunday Times revealed that schools were urging students to fill out ``worry slips," join `No Facebook Clubs' and make use of `wellbeing packs' to combat the stress of Year 12 exams. In the lead-up to the WA Certificate of Education written exams, experts had warned parents to help break the ``catastrophic thinking cycle" in the traditionally stressful time for students. Schools had also turned to new ways to alleviate the anxiety around exams, including Presbyterian Ladies' College, which has introduced ``worry slips" for students to write down the best and worse case scenario, as well as the most likely outcome. ``Girls take it out after the event to see what actually happened," head of senior school, Neesha Flint, said. ``The hope is that by using these slips, you train your brain to not `catastrophise' coming events." The Peppermint Grove school also has a `No Facebook Club', where students agree to download software that blocks the social networking site for most of the week. Facebook is banned at PLC from Sunday night to Friday night. For the first time this year, the school also introduced a peace and tranquility room for students to use prior to exams. Dozens of Year 11 and 12 pupils have already made use of it and said it helped calm their nerves. At Shenton College, Year 12 students have been given their own ``wellbeing packs," clear pencil cases with exam tips and contact numbers for support agencies to allow them to talk with experts if they're feeling stressed. The packs are suitable for students to take into exams and have proved a helpful tool in reducing stress and encouraging communication, principal Mike Morgan said. In her advice to parents at Christ Church Grammar School, senior psychologist Anne Angelkovska warned parents to be mindful of possible warning signs. She said mild levels of anxiety were ``considered quite healthy and normal," but moderate to extreme levels ``have the potential to produce irrational thought processes." ``If your child feels the need to answer every question correctly, then there is the potential for a meltdown early on, especially as they are studying and working on past exam papers," Dr Angelkovska said. ``If you see irrational thought patterns, you need to try and help your child gain some perspective. Communication is essential. Communication does not equate to `nagging. Re-evaluating expectations with your child, setting clearly defined objectives helps break the `catastrophic thinking cycle'.