2022 NSW HSC: North Coast students on the first English exam
The start of the 2022 Higher School Certificate might have been enough to rattle many NSW students - but on the North Coast most have conquered far more challenging times in the past two years. See what they made of the first exam.
Lismore
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Meet the class who couldn’t be broken – the Northern NSW students who took everything thrown at them and came out the other side smiling.
These young men and women have been through the wringer.
On-again, off-again Covid lockdowns brought with it the challenge of home learning through their senior school years.
For students based from Grafton to the Queensland border there was also the disruption of flood.
Bloody big flood. And there were two of them – back to back, if you don’t mind.
The walls of water were so immense that regional cities such as Lismore and towns like Coraki and Woodburn are still but a shadow of their old selves.
Through all this the Year 12 North Coast students just got on with preparing for the 2022 Higher School Certificate which started today (October 12).
While the youngsters couldn’t stem the floods any more than they could keep Covid at bay – they controlled what they could as they prepped for the end-of-year-examinations.
And like every challenge – it was an ask accepted.
Coffs Harbour High School
Levi Taylor:
“I actually thought the trial HSC was harder and it gave us good preparation and took the weight off my shoulders.
“The trial exam had a question about The Wiggles, but the English paper 1 was pretty good and a lot easier.
“Today’s I think was moderate in the way of difficulties.”
Georgia Lang, Emma Cherry and Mikayla Howard:
“It was fair – the trial was definitely harder,” Mikayla said.
Georgia: “I was a lot less prepared for the trial so today went well.”
Baxter Corcoran:
“It was fairly easy and the preparation I had done made me stress a lot less.
“I definitely found learning at home (because of Covid) a lot harder because it’s better when you can ask questions directly (of a teacher).
“I think I did all right today. I gave it my best shot and that’s all you can do.”
Rachal Eagles:
“I probably could have managed my time a little better but I believe I did pretty well.
“During Covid it was challenging with Google Classroom and just trying to get advice.
“But we got through it. The English Advanced Paper 1 was a lot better than the trial.”
The Rivers Secondary Colleges Lismore
The Rivers Secondary College includes three high schools; Lismore, Richmond River and Kadina.
After Covid, lockdowns and floods, Lismore teens are relatively optimistic about their HSC.
Tigerlily Corkill – Lismore High
“I think I did the best I could under the circumstances.
“The large essay was a little different to what I had studied … but I felt like I could have a good crack at it.”
J-J Coleman – Richmond River High
“I’ve just finished the advanced paper for English, it was pretty intense - the first big, big, actual paper.
“I put in a lot of effort for it and it turned out pretty good in my opinion.”
Sophie Painter – Kadina High
“I started studying a week or two in advance to make sure that I was prepared.
“All the questions I tried my best and made sure I answered to the best of my ability.
“I think I’ll be okay, it’s still a bit nerve-racking because I haven’t done an exam for a few years but I reckon I can complete it.”
Ballina High school
Chloe Simpson:
“I think I went pretty well, I was a bit nervous before coming here.
“I kind of studied and kind of didn’t - but I think I did my best.
“After high school I want to get into nail technology and eventually have my own business because I like the idea of having control over my own hours and my pay.”
Annabelle Finn:
“I think I did all right, I didn’t finish the exam response because I didn’t know what to write.
“The questions were pretty similar to the ones I‘ve learned in the past.
“I think exams are overrated, people get too stressed when they aren’t that big of a deal.”
Kaleb Henman:
“I did terrible, I only completed half of it. I didn’t know any of the stories.
“I felt a bit nervous.”
Brandon McKenna:
“I think I did all right, it was a breeze.”
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