Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examinations kicked off last Thursday with English Paper 1 and Music 1 Aural Skills scheduled on the first day of the exam period.

Year 12 Students Milly Follet from North Arm Cove and Noah Harris-Pholi from Bundabah sat the examinations in Bulahdelah and were pleased to have their first two exams out of the way.

Milly, who completed her HSC Courses by Distance Education, said she was happy with the questions in the English paper.

“There was a good adaptable question for the essay on Discovery and the stimulus for the creative writing was also pretty good,” she said.

Milly told News Of The Area while studying by Distance Education was challenging, it also had its positives.
“It was a good learning curve for University as you have to become more independent with your learning and it’s also flexible meaning you can study at a time that suits you,” Milly said.

“But there was no face-to-face interaction with other students or teachers which meant questions couldn’t be answered on the spot. Teachers often took a day or so to get back to you which was usually done by email.”
Noah, who attended Bulahdelah Central School, said although he felt quite nervous before his English exam, he relaxed once he began writing his answers.

“The essay on Discovery was a bit challenging but I managed to get a fair answer down,” he said.
“I finished writing with five minutes to spare and utilised that time to check over my answers.”
Following the English exam, both Milly and Noah had just over an hour to relax and refocus before returning to sit the one-hour Music 1 Aural Skills Exam.

Both students agreed the musical excerpts played during the exam were interesting and fun to analyse.
Exams in 117 subjects will be conducted throughout the HSC Examination period which concludes on 4 November.

By Daniel SAHYOUN