Christian College Geelong student Oscar Saffin shares secrets to VCE exam success; Expert Jacqui Peters shares top five tips

An excelling year 12 student has shared his secrets to success, as he and his peers across Geelong prepare to sit their final exams.

Year 12 Christian College student Oscar Saffin has shared his secrets to success in the exam room. Picture: Alan Barber

The secrets to success of an excelling Geelong year 12 have been revealed, including “exam vaccination” and watching a popular Netflix documentary.

Christian College Geelong’s Oscar Saffin is among the thousands of students gearing up for their final exams.

The English exam on October 24 will mark Oscar’s first, and the beginning of the end of his school journey.

The 19-year-old said it felt weird and surreal to be almost at the finish line.

“It all feels like it’s building up to this moment, and now you’re finally here,” he said.

Christian College student Oscar Saffin said “exam vaccination” was key to his success in the final VCE assessments. Picture: Alan Barber

“It’s definitely still sinking in, but I’m keen for what’s ahead.”

Oscar already has a top result in the bag after achieving a high score in VCE Australian history in 2022.

He was one of nine Geelong students honoured with a study award at the Premier’s VCE Awards in July.

He said doing well in exam period was all about recognising what worked for you.

“For me, (what works is) what a few teachers refer to as ‘exam vaccination’, where it’s just that repeat exposure to exam conditions,” he said.

“For English, the time constraints and memorising quotes, or for maths it’s the exam style of questions.”

Deakin University school of education lecturer Jacqui Peters said while exams were important, they were not everything.

Dr Peters said students should instead look at them as a chance to show what you have learnt.

“Exams don’t necessarily resemble life, nor are they an entry ticket to life beyond school,” she said.

“There are many ways to get to where you want, and many don’t know what they want at 18.”

Dr Peters said her top five tips for students in the exam room included:

1. Remember your breathing, to regulate your heart rate, and calm you;

2. Don’t look around at others and judge your progress by them;

3. Practise positive self-talk;

4. Read the paper in reading time and plan out how long you will spend on each section, and try to stick to this plan; and

5. Go easy on yourself.

Dr Peters said other things to keep in mind included exercising regularly with something that brings you joy, continuing socialising within reason, and to sleep well.

Oscar said when feeling your study load ramping up, maintaining consistency was key.

He said this included enjoyable activities, to relax and have down time.

For Oscar, these included surfing and watching the David Beckham Netflix documentary.

After finishing his VCE, Oscar said he was hoping to pursue a university degree in the humanities realm, like law or international relations.

2023 VCE exams will conclude on November 15, with results released December 11.

Originally published as Christian College Geelong student Oscar Saffin shares secrets to VCE exam success; Expert Jacqui Peters shares top five tips