The countdown to the HSC has begun with 60,000 year 12 students across NSW entering the final stretch of studying for their exams.
The year 12 cohort completed the HSC trial exams last week, with most Major Work assessment tasks also being submitted.
Magdalene Catholic College HSC student Veronica Corr said she was exhausted but in high spirits after the trials, having completed two major works for Visual Arts and Textiles over the 2 week period.
“I liked my teachers and I had a lot of friends in my classes with major works because they weren’t super popular,” Ms Corr said.
“The whole experience, aside from deadlines, was so therapeutic.”
Ms Corr specialises in Visual Arts and Textiles and is one of 20,000 students who plans to receive a high school certification alongside a major work.
This year’s graduating class has been studying their HSC courses since last October, each required to have completed a minimum of 12 standard course units in their preliminary year and 10 in their final.
NESA requires students to complete 120 hours of coursework. At Magdalene, senior students are encouraged to spend an additional 4-6 hours per day on study and major work completion.
“A lot of subjects that are content heavy mean you sacrifice the time you could be spending on major works,” Ms Corr said.
“People feel a lot of pressure to study but if you’re learning in class, don’t feel the need to do so much outside of that,
“Put time into your friends and take time away from school.”
According to ACC, 20 per cent of teenagers aged 11-17 suffer from diagnosed psychological distress, affecting emotional wellbeing, relationships, behaviour and academic performance including motivation and engagement.
For NSW public schools, the NSW Government with the Department of Education have rolled out the School Counselling Service as a support network for students in need of support inside and outside the classroom.
HSC student Joey Piefke said his major work has been a cathartic experience given how passionate he is about the subject outletting exam stress.
“That’s probably the best part about music, it’s so personally tailored to each individual,” Mr Piefke said.
“You can’t tell people to just study jazz. There are going to be people who don’t know the genre and people who just like playing the violin.
“It’s a metaphor but it would be unfair in comparison to students who specialise in jazz.”
CAPA courses offer students a “fun” area of study during the HSC, enabling young people to engage with their limbic system – the central neurological system for imagination, promoting growth and improving memory.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any work done until I played some guitar and got it out of my system,” Mr Piefke said.
“Guitar helped me to procrastinate but after I was done, I could get back into what I was working on.
“I flushed the procrastination out of my brain and was able to focus fully on my studies.”
HSC exams will commence on October15.