In March, the Guangdong provincial health education institute polled 1,850 students due to take the exam, and their parents, and found that 90 percent of both said they were feeling so much pressure it was affecting their health conditions.

Hao Hongwei, a psychologist from the Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said: "Both students and parents are under pressure at this time, but if parents become too stressed, some of the pressure they are feeling will be transferred to their children."

Also, the high expectations parents have for their children, can add pressure and affect their performance in the exam, he said.

What parents should be doing right now is helping their children to relax by talking to them and listening to their concerns, Hao said.