After months of HSC uncertainty,no exams were cancelled due to COVID-19

Three months ago,the fate of the 2021 Higher School Certificate was in doubt;authorities were on the verge of scrapping some exams due to COVID-19 fears,and many students and teachers in NSW wanted the whole thing called off.

On Friday,the HSC - which was delayed twice - will finish. In the end,none of the 400,000 individual exam sessions were cancelled,and just 27 of the state’s 76,000 students missed a test because they were close contacts and had to self-isolate,the NSW Education Standards Authority said.

Epping Boys High School HSC students complete their first English exam.

Epping Boys High School HSC students complete their first English exam. Steven Siewert

Four students missed exams because they had COVID-19.

About 52 schools had to close during the test period,but most sectioned off year 12 so the exams could continue. Ahead of the final exam,food technology,Education Minister Sarah Mitchell congratulated the class of 2021 on their resilience.

“I am incredibly happy to see them so triumphantly reach the finish line,” Ms Mitchell said. She also congratulated the teachers,principals and supervisors involved in helping the exams run smoothly.

When the Delta outbreak hit Sydney in late June,and cases kept climbing,many wondered if it was possible to hold a complex event like the HSC,which would require students to travel and sit in rooms together for hours.

Senior educators called for it to be cancelled and for students’ school assessment marks to be used to determine their results,as happened overseas last year with the International Baccalaureate.

Many began debating how to interpret the Education Act’s reference to a public examination,and whether that meant the tests could be limited to a handful of subjects,such as maths and English.

NSW Health eventually pushed the exams back to November 9 - it was originally due to begin on October 12 - to ensure vaccination coverage was high enough to prevent too many students from being forced into isolation.

NSW Education Standards Authority chief executive Paul Martin said COVID-safe exam procedures - such as mandatory masks - ensured they went ahead safely.

“The protocols and plans in place also proved effective in mitigating against other issues throughout the exam period,including flooding in parts of the state,” he said. “Students in the impacted areas were able to safely get to alternate exam venues.”

Dallas McInerney,the head of Catholic Schools NSW,said the right decision was made to continue with the full HSC. “These students should be proud of how they have navigated this year,” he said. “Their teachers should be similarly proud of the way they have helped their students get to this point.”

Teachers and principals were relieved it’s over,said Secondary Principals Council head Craig Petersen. “The run-up[to the exams] was a nightmare.

“Not in terms of any organisational matters - it was really about that extended anxiety,will they go ahead,won’t they,will there be a massive COVID-19 outbreak? There was that anxiety because of the uncertainty.”

In the end,this year’s HSC went more smoothly than last year’s,when bomb threats disrupted several exams. “We’re extremely happy with how smoothly it has run,it will be a massive relief that it’s over,” Mr Petersen said.

Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks will be released by the University Admissions Centre on 20 January in time for university offers and admissions in 2022. HSC results will be released by email and SMS from 6am on Monday 24 January.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights.Sign uphere.

Jordan Baker is Chief Reporter of The Sydney Morning Herald. She was previously Education Editor.

Most Viewed in National