Swot, chill or cram..? Vick Hope, Lewis Capaldi and Dan Smith all share VERY different ways to crack exam stress in new Classic FM series

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Vick Hope, felt stupid; Dan Smith was stressed while Lewis Capaldi just played it cool. 

The three celebrities, known for their confident performances and super cool images, have joined forces to advise youngsters on how to cope with exams.

More than 500,000 teenagers are preparing to sit their GCSE exams in the coming weeks, with tens of thousands more taking A-levels and Scottish Highers and others cramming for their university finals.

The celebs, who are all presenters on Classic FM, are part of an exam survival guide for the classical music station's younger listeners.

Capaldi, 22, who became the fastest unsigned artist to reach 25 million plays on Spotify with his song, Bruises, in 2017, admits that one teacher told his mother at a parents' evening, 'he's so laid back he's horizontal'.

Vick Hope, 29, who comes from Newcastle admits to locking herself away in her bedroom and her life being ruled by a revision timetable

By the time Capaldi, from Bathgate in Scotland, reached his GCSEs the situation had not changed greatly. 'I could definitely have been better at exams,' said Capaldi, who started playing guitar at the age of nine and uploaded songs to the internet from his bedroom.

'I was very much like, 'it'll be fine',' said the singer, who obtained Cs and Ds.

In the series, the presenters are asked to give advice to their younger selves to help others who are fretting over their future now. 

'It will be fine!' Capaldi reassures. 'Don't worry. Relax. Maybe go to the gym, because you are not looking good! Don't take things too seriously. It'll be OK in the end.'

Vick Hope, on the other hand, took it all VERY seriously.

'I was one of those kids who cared so much,' said the broadcaster and journalist, who presents Carnage on Sky One, is a presenter on Capital FM as well as Classic FM and also writes for Marie Claire.

Hope, 29, who comes from Newcastle admits to locking herself away in her bedroom and her life being ruled by a revision timetable.

Vick Hope (left) and Lewis Capaldi, (right) two celebrities, known for their  super cool images, have joined forces to advise youngsters on how to cope with exams for a Classic FM series

'I just did not know when to stop,' said the Amnesty International ambassador. 'It did get on top of me. I would work all day and all night.'

Hope did well at school and went on to study modern languages at the University of Cambridge after teaching herself Spanish and taking night classes to gain extra A' levels.

However, she suddenly felt out of her depth when she went up to Cambridge.

'At uni I felt so stupid, I found it really hard,' said Hope, who also presents Trending Live on 4Music.

Remembering his exam stress, Bastille star Dan Smith (pictured) says: 'Even thinking back to it makes me feel a bit sick… but it'll be fine, completely fine!

Hope says she now realises that whatever happens in exams there is an opportunity to put it right afterwards, and the most important thing is to prove yourself in a job.

'It is never the end of the world,' she said. 'Look after yourself. These results are important, but they are not the be all and end all.'

Remembering his exam stress, Bastille star Dan Smith says: 'Even thinking back to it makes me feel a bit sick… but it'll be fine, completely fine!

'When you are studying, studying and studying and it feels like it's not sinking in, it is definitely doing something and there will definitely be that moment when it clicks and it's there.

'Inevitably, you are going to feel like you are panicking at certain points, but just take a minute, calm down, you can do it,' he added.

*The eight-part series on exams will run every Saturday night (9pm to 10pm) on Classic FM, from April 27 to June 15, to coincide with GCSEs, A-levels, Scottish Highers and university exams. It will be the first ever series on Classic FM dedicated solely to students. Each programme will have a different theme, from dealing with exam stress and last-minute cramming to general wellbeing and overcoming exam panic.