Graduate produces guide on how to beat HSC stress
THE stress of competing with classmates during the HSC left former northern beaches student Jackson Rose with anxiety. Now, he’s produced a guide to surviving exams.
Manly
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A FORMER northern beaches schoolboy says the HSC ranking system, which pitches classmate against classmate, is fuelling the increase in mental health issues among young people on the northern beaches.
Jackson Rose, 24, from Balgowlah, said he was so traumatised by the HSC he struggled to commit to a university or a course, moving four times before completing a Bachelor of Arts.
“I was scarred,” Mr Rose said. “I felt scared to go back into the education system and I had no direction in my life at that point.”
His experience encouraged him to write an ebook guide on how to survive your teens and early 20s, called What Now? As well as advice on how to deal with HSC stress, it offers information on physical and mental health, and life skills such as financial literacy.
During his research, he found his experience of the HSC was not unusual, with many confessing they had suffered depression and anxiety during their studies.
Mr Rose said, in particular, he struggled with the internal ranking system which sees students in years 11 and 12 ranked in terms of ability in a subject. Rankings can go up and down depending on marks from assessments.
While Mr Rose was a high achiever, he was ranked about fourth, he found it incredibly stressful watching his place move up and down.
“I broke down a couple of times and I suffered from a lot of anxiety,” he said.
“I found myself sitting in the shower crying because I was under so much pressure. I didn’t want my parents to see me struggling, so I told no one.”
He also saw fellow pupils give up when they saw their rankings drop.
Mr Rose said he wanted teenagers to know the HSC does not determine your life.
“It’s not the be all and end all,” he said. “There are many alternative routes to get where you want other than the HSC.”
Go to jackson-rose.squarespace.com for a free version of the ebook, with full chapters to be released shortly.
GAOKAO: THE HARDEST EXAM IN THE WORLD
CASE STUDY BY NIKOLINA MATIJEVIC
IN MY graduating class of 2015 students felt the pressures of the HSC, suffering from anxiety attacks and sleep deprivation.
It was not until after school that I realised how many of my classmates had struggled that final year.
It was a time where we all shared the same process but mentally we could not connect. Friends who decided the pressure was not for them decided to leave school.
Suddenly a class of 100 had notably shrunk.
In 2015 the University of NSW released a report which found 42 per cent of students suffered from high-level anxiety.
But once we had graduated it became clear that your ATAR does not have to define your future
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