Tens of thousands of year 12 students across New South Wales sat the first test of their final exams on Tuesday, facing the question: “How does the composer of your prescribed text offer you opportunities to examine assumptions about human strength and vulnerability?”
Kayden Tran, 18, a student at Canley Vale high school in Sydney’s west, had a “really great breakfast” of rice, bacon and eggs before the HSC English 1 paper. Despite initial nerves, he felt confident afterwards.
“This morning, I felt extremely stressed and I kind of gave up hope,” Tran told the Guardian. “But after doing the exam, I feel perfectly fine, I feel content, like I did the best I possibly could.”
Students’ preparation strategies
Mary Alnimry, 17, listened to the song Heroes by the late David Bowie to prepare. “I discovered that song through an assessment for year 10 and, every time, before every English exam, I listen to that song and it just reminds me of English,” she said.
Alnimry described the paper as “pretty fair, there was nothing out of the ordinary.” She added: “You just have to go in and believe that you know the content. That’s how I felt in the morning. And then after the exam, obviously it’s really rewarding. I completed everything, but there’s always that curiosity lingering.”
Reactions online and from teachers
On Reddit, other year 12 students were less confident. One user, bberson, wrote: “Honestly I think that’ll kick most people in the ass, the fact the question had so much to unpack I personally found it hard to address it all, I focused on vulnerability and strength and sprinkled a bit of assumptions.”
Another, djungleskog41, expressed concern about missing parts of the question: “I did Orwell too and tbh I didn’t address the question at all. I only focused on how like human vulnerability and weakness forces us to submit into the regime and rebelling is a sign of human strength blah blah blah but i barely mentioned my assumption so im rlly upset about that lol.”
Alana Miller, an English teacher at Canley Vale high school with 17 years of experience, said the nerves extend to teachers. “We care so much about the students, we spend so much time,” she said. “We want them to do well, we want them to feel particularly that these exams are something they could achieve in.”
Miller noted that fantasy books and Japanese manga have been growing in popularity at the school. She said she has spent the past year trying to engage students with reading. “I think the best way is to … talk to them about books, shows, films that they might see,” she said. “I think choosing engaging texts in the classroom can be a huge stepping stone for resistant readers. … I just try and tell them they haven’t met the book yet that will get them to love reading.”
Student confidence and principal’s view
Zenith Diep, 17, said self-belief was key. “I’m feeling not too bad, because I did finish everything,” he said. “I don’t know if I answered the questions fully as I should’ve. You just have to trust yourself with how much work you put in and that you actually remember it. I trust in myself.”
Effie Niarchos, the principal of Canley Vale high, said the HSC marks a rite of passage for year 12s. “All of the teaching, all the learning is building towards this moment,” she said. “We want them to be ready for the world, and we look at it as we’ve achieved something to be able to successfully prepare them for this moment.”
Niarchos noted that students have been experiencing more anxiety in recent years, possibly from community expectations or the world shifting. As she saw off the last of the exam takers, she said: “They’re our future.”
HSC results will be released on 16 December.
