Anxiety explosion: 1 in 10 HSC kids now claiming special exam treatment

An anxiety crisis is crippling teens, with increasing numbers of students now claiming a raft of exemptions during HSC exams.

HSC students are now so crippled by anxiety about their performance during exams that an extraordinary one in 10 claim the right to have a rest every 30 minutes.

NSW Education Standards Authority data reveals 6732 students claimed special dispensation for either having an “anxiety disorder or concentration issues” or experiencing “pain” or simply having difficulty completing an entire exam.

That figure has surged by 51 per cent in just three years, going from 4433 to 6732 students last year.

Psychiatrists say the teen anxiety crisis is expected to worsen this year, while the number of children taking medication for stress has increased by 12 per cent in NSW over the past decade, with 2735 prescriptions handed out last year.

The sharp rise comes as psychiatrists report that more Sydney teens are turning to prescription medicines to deal with spiralling anxiety during the HSC.

2021 HSC student Bridget Azar had exam anxiety last year. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed said adolescents were taking either an antidepressant called fluoxetine, a low dose valium or a beta blocker to deal with it all.

This week one student’s parents called Dr Ahmed to help with the paperwork for special provisions because the teen had a panic attack just before the exams began. “In terms of anxiety in teens, that is a long-term trend but it just picks up in Year 11 and 12,” he said.

Dr Ahmed said children were more aware of the options available when it came to disability provisions, and were choosing to “opt out” of the HSC because they found it all too stressful.

“The anxiety trend is also linked to the huge ADHD explosion,” he said.

Psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed.

“The vast majority of ADHD in Year 11 and 12, it is about a high-performance culture and the pressure on performance.”

As previously revealed by The Daily Telegraph, the number of ADHD medications has almost doubled across the nation, going from 529,102 in 2013 to 926,628 last year.

Psychiatrist Lisa Myers said she was seeing more adolescents struggling with the pressure of the HSC.

“In the senior years of high school with the increased pressures, as the pressure increases they might decide to present for help,” Dr Myers said.

Sydney careers adviser John Taccori said he dealt with numerous Year 12 students who found exam stress was increasing, and called on the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) to make the HSC a bit easier.

“School is really a stressful place, especially the HSC, it has become harder and harder particularly in the last 10 years,” he said.

“It has put kids under a lot of pressure, it puts staff under a lot of pressure.

“The amount of kids who are diagnosed with anxiety, getting medication for it, getting special provisions has exploded because the exams are ridiculously hard and NESA has really got to back off.”

Experts say the HSC heaps too much stress on students. Picture: iStock

Bridget Azar had exam anxiety when she sat the HSC last year but did not seek special provisions. She believes teachers put too much pressure on students.

“They try to pressure students into getting good marks so the school looks good,” she said. “Teachers build the HSC up quite a bit, I feel like that is where the anxiety comes from, there is a massive expectation of how difficult the exams are going to be.

“When I actually saw the HSC paper … it’s just an exam on a piece of paper.”

A NSW Education Standards spokeswoman said: “Students with an anxiety or panic disorder diagnosed by an appropriate health expert may apply for disability provisions, including supervision to sit exams in a small group to reduce group anxiety, or rest breaks.”