We got through it Delayed HSC exams begin with English paper one

Four weeks late and with students wearing masks for more than two hours, this year’s HSC group have completed their first exam in unprecedented conditions.

“It hasn’t been easy but all things considered, we got through it,” Epping Boys High School student Lachintha Kankanamage, 17, said.

Lachintha, along with 62,650 of his peers across NSW, sat English paper one on Tuesday morning.

Relieved: Epping Boys High School student Lachintha KankanamageCredit:Steven Siewert

Vivek Waller, 18, also from Epping Boys High, said the exam question “was pretty stock standard, I’ve seen more difficult questions in trial exams”.

“We had to analyse how an individual in our prescribed text responded to challenges, there were quite a few things to talk about,” another student, Timothy Xu, 18, said.

All three were fine with mask requirements, even with the occasional fogging up of glasses.

“It was a bit of an issue but our school managed to buy some anti-clogging solution, which is quite expensive and I know some schools didn’t have that,” Vivek said.

Class of ’21. Credit:Steven Siewert

“I still had to take off my glasses and wipe them down a few times but I completely support [the requirement] to make sure everyone is as safe as possible.”

Ultimately, the exam meant a longer-than-usual HSC year was coming to an end.

“It’s really good to start the beginning of the end because for a while there was no end,” Vivek said.

“My motivation fluctuated a lot throughout the year and it was difficult to keep up with study when there was no end goal for a long time.”

Schools were closed for up to 17 weeks during the state’s latest COVID-19 outbreak, which meant students had to change the way they learnt, Lachintha said.

“With face-to-face learning you have more support, you can ask questions when you have them,” he said.

“Now we had to set out what we had to ask and then wait until our Zoom calls with teachers, it was a bit of a disadvantage, especially at the beginning.”

“I hope no other year has to experience what we experienced,” Vivek said.

Epping Boys High relieving principal Jessica Schadel said she has been “incredibly proud” of the way her students have supported each other throughout the year, and the school was going ahead with plans for a graduation ceremony and formal.

“I really hope the boys get clean sailing for the next few years, we’ve seen a lot of flexibility from universities in terms of entry requirements and the boys have been really well-supported by career advisors and teachers,” Ms Schadel said.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell defended making masks mandatory during HSC exams, which health authorities said would ensure students are classified as casual contacts rather than close contacts if someone in their exam room tests positive to COVID-19.

It will mean students will not have to isolate for two weeks and miss exams during that period.

“I understand it could be frustrating, but I think what would be more frustrating is finding yourself knocked out for a week or two of your exams because you’re not wearing a mask,” Ms Mitchell said on Tuesday morning.

She said students were allowed to remove their masks briefly during exams to drink water or remove fog from their glasses.

“HSC students, with the support of their teachers and families, have displayed incredible resilience and perseverance over the past 18 months,” Ms Mitchell said.

“I thank them all for adapting to the myriad of challenges and disruptions and wish all of them the best of luck for their exams.”

Chief executive of the NSW Education Standards Authority Paul Martin said special considerations are available to students who have been especially impacted by the lockdown.

“For the written exams, we have implemented a special consideration program to support equity and fairness for students whose personal circumstances during lockdown have made preparing for their HSC enormously challenging,” he said.

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