The Exam is a funny but serious look at the pressures faced by students today, both at school and at home. The play is accompanied by teaching materials containing fantastic ideas for drama work, as well as other activities designed to answer English Framework and NC objectives. The exam is comic look at the pressures put on young people by parents and teachers. Andrew, Chas and Bea are three candidates of mixed ability who find themselves holed up in the same exam hall waiting for their papers to arrive. As the wait lengthens, each has to survive a powerful barrage of self doubt, parental pressure and adult incompetence. They must come to terms with themselves, their peers and parents ' provoked and helped by 'Ex', the mysterious, disembodied voice of the exam.