Leniency for Sydney HSC students hit hardest by Covid lockdown

Teachers will be able to mark their own HSC students’ exams and major works under new provisions for pupils living in areas subject to Sydney’s harsh lockdown orders.

Students living under Sydney’s harshest lockdown res­trictions will be eligible for extra HSC marks in subjects which need more than just a textbook.

If students have experienced “significant disruption or disadvantage” because of Covid, teachers will be able to apply to mark their own pupils’ oral language exams, performance exams and major works, rather than have them marked by someone from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

McCauley Catholic College student Katelyn McDonald crafted this impressive bathtub for her HSC woodwork piece last year.

The leniency will only ­extend to students in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Shellharbour and Wollongong.

Teachers will be allowed to take into account the impact of Covid-19 on a student’s preparation for the exam or major work, which will be moderated by NESA to ensure fairness.

Those eligible for the “special consideration” include all language students and students studying subjects such as dance, drama, music, visual arts, design and technology, industrial technology, textiles and design, society and culture, and English extension 2.

“We recognise that students in Greater Sydney have had varying levels of access to specialist equipment and a quiet place to study as they prepare for upcoming oral language exams, performance exams and to hand in major works,” NESA’s Covid Res­ponse Committee chair Peter Shergold said.

“This is ensuring every student is able to have the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt to the best of their ability, despite the impact of Covid-19.”

The special dispensation would apply where a student could not practise their language-speaking skills because of limited internet access; could not work on their industrial technology woodwork projects without the school’s lathe; or a society and culture student could not complete their project because they didn’t have video software.