Four ways to help your students overcome impostor syndrome

Are your pupils prone to feeling like a fraud when they succeed? Try these ideas to help them realise their potential

Ever felt like a fraud at work? As if at any moment, everyone else is going to realise that you've bluffed your way to your current position? This phenomenon is known as the impostor syndrome, and even those who are at the top of their professional game feel it. Emma Watson recently admitted that she's uncomfortable receiving praise because she feels like an impostor, and Ri(C)nee Zellweger and Kate Winslet have also acknowledged similar feelings.

Research into impostor syndrome shows that it is characterised by feelings of anxiety - thinking that you are not as talented as others believe, that your success is down to luck and that one day soon your lack of ability is going to be exposed in front of everyone.