New VCAA chief admits exam nerves as ‘successful’ VCE season wraps
Year 12 students have taken to social media to celebrate the end of VCE exams, burning their notes and throwing books in the bin, after the 2025 testing period concluded without major incident.
Students weren’t the only ones feeling exam nerves this year, with Andrew Smith admitting he too was anxious going into his first VCE season as the VCAA’s new chief.
As the clock struck 5.15pm on Wednesday, students sitting the last three exams of the year put their pens down for the last time, marking the end of the 2025 testing season for exams in Victoria.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority was under immense pressure to ace Year 12 exams for the class of 2025, following last year’s cover sheet leak which impacted 90,000 students and set taxpayers back upwards of $800,000.
The blunder, first revealed by the Herald Sun, cost former VCAA chief Kylie White her job and prompted Education Minister Ben Carroll to launch a root-and-branch review into the troubled exam authority.
Consequently, the expectations were high for Mr Smith and the rest of his team who were appointed following the sacking of the former VCAA board.
“All of us here at the VCAA shared a similar anxiety to students (going into exams),” Mr Smith told the Herald Sun.
“We wanted to give those students the best opportunity to show what they know. We were a bit anxious to give them that opportunity.”
Mr Smith said he was “quite proud and pleased” after receiving mostly positive feedback from students and teachers in the past three weeks, adding the root-and-branch review was “really helpful” in ensuring the VCAA succeeded.
“We’ve had a whole range of things that we’ve implemented this year; additional quality insurance checks, more use of external subject matter experts, increased project management capability,” he said.
“All of these things have helped and of course the role of the independent monitor has been helpful in lifting the standard of our work to match what people would expect of us.”
A staggering $553,000 was spent employing independent monitor Margaret Crawford to oversee the preparation and delivery of this year’s exams, with Mr Smith confirming the role would continue next year.
Year 12 students triumphantly celebrated the end of their VCE exams by burning their study notes in bonfires.
Other high school graduates from the class of 2025 shared videos on social media of them throwing their books in the bin and ripping papers off their bedroom walls.
“Goodbye VCE you won’t be missed,” a student wrote.
“War is over,” another said.
This year’s VCE exams finished on Wednesday with predominantly languages including French, Italian, Chinese, German and Spanish.
More than 92,000 students sat an exam in the past three weeks at one of 580 examination centres across Victoria.
There were a total of 110 VCE written exams conducted between October 28 and November 19, with verbal exams for 42 languages also completed in the weeks prior.
The majority of students praised the VCAA for the handling of this year’s exams with only minor issues impacting a small handful of year 12s.
Education Minister Ben Carroll congratulated school leavers for the “milestone” achievement.
“Year 12 exams are like the grand final after 13 years of schooling for tens of thousands of students,” he said.
“I am pleased to say that we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from students and teachers in the lead up and during exams.
”Strengthened quality assurance measures, including additional quality assurance checks, greater use of subject matter experts and the oversight of the Independent Monitor have all contributed to the successful rollout of the 2025 examinations.”
Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals Colin Axup described this year’s exam season as “very successful”, noting feedback from school leaders was positive.
“It’s a very stressful period of time for students at the end of the 13 years of schooling and I think the outcome and implementation of the review has obviously had some impact on ensuring this year’s exams were as successful as they have been,” he said.
The nervous wait for ATAR release day has now commenced, with study scores and students’ final rankings to be released on December 11.
Mr Smith wished students all the best for “whatever they’re doing in the next phase of their life” and reminded them that they’re all more than just a number.
More Coverage
Originally published as New VCAA chief admits exam nerves as ‘successful’ VCE season wraps
Monash University agrees to back-pay staff in $20m wage theft case
