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This investigation examined the relationship between attendance and examination performance. Psychology students (179) took A/S psychology modules; their results were correlated with their attendance up to the examination date. The data were subjected to a Pearson Product Moment Correlation and a statistically significant result was found. (p =.221∗∗, significant at 0.01). The influence of an Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) on attendance and performance was also assessed. Generally it was found that EMA students do attend classes more regularly than non‐EMA students. However, there was little difference between EMA and non‐EMA students' examination performance rates. Serious concerns are raised about the overall effectiveness of EMA as a means of promoting student examination performance.

This paper reports the results of an empirical study of psychological morale in further education students. Success in A‐level examinations is dependant on a number of factors, not only intellectual ability but also morale and other personality factors. This investigation aimed to assess the influence of these factors in the 16–18 years age range. The sample consisted of 357 A‐level students (156 male and 201 female). Students were asked to complete a number of inventories measuring various dimensions of personality, including morale, self‐esteem, extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism and state and trait anxiety. Significant and positive correlations of morale with self‐esteem and extraversion were reported. Significant but negative correlations of morale with neuroticism and state and trait anxiety were reported. A factor analysis of the Well‐being Inventory revealed that the most significant factor was student optimism and belief in their future, but this was often moderated by the influence of anxiet...