UK school employs puppy to help children cope with exam stress

Shola, a four-month-old puppy, has been employed in a school in the UK to help students deal with exam stress and calm them down.
The Irish setter arrived at Tavistock College in Plymouth in England when she was just nine-weeks-old.
The puppy is said to have an ability to work out if students are stressed, and can help calm them down, the Daily Mirror reported.
She is on hand during exam season to greet nervous students and also attends staff briefings.
"From the very first she has loved her work - she will trot jauntily down the corridor, tail wagging, looking out for children, and staff, to make a fuss of her, Plymouth Herald, headteacher Sarah Jones, said.

"She has an adoring public and she expects everyone to love her," she said.

"Before one exam we had a student so stressed she felt he couldn't take the exam, but meeting Shola brought a smile to her face and she was then able to go in to sit her exam," Jones said.
"In a class with some students known to be worried and anxious, Shola will invariably choose to sit beside those students rather than the other, calmer, students.
"College life fascinates her - last week she discovered the college chickens and was riveted to the window watching them peck and scratch in the straw the other side of the glass," Jones said.

"PE is always interesting and she always wants to go and play whatever game the students are playing - although she is banned from the pitches for health and safety reasons."
Shola's name was chosen from more than 300 suggestions put forward by students and she was presented to the college in assembly.