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Year 12 School students from Sydney Secondary College at Blackwattle Bay Campus complete the last HSC exam for the year.Credit:Renee Nowytarger

The NSW Education Standards Authorityhas said none of the 400,000 individual exam sessions have had to be cancelled,and just 27 of the state’s 76,000 students missed a test because they were close contacts and had to self-isolate;four students missed exams because they had COVID-19.

It will be a longer than usual period until students receive their results this time – the mid-December publication time has been pushed out until mid-January – but there was little talk of exams,post-school ambitions or university entry as year 12 food technology students at Sydney Secondary College left their campus at Blackwattle Bay for the last time this week.

“Every day it was like:nearly done,nearly done. And now once we’re done,it’s so good,” said Chloe Barton. “I’m over it all.”

Year 12 students leave their high school for the last time,after HSC exams finished on Friday.Credit:Renee Nowytarger

Now their focus is on schoolies and the year 12 formal,which will be held for the Glebe students on Monday for all who want to come. Unvaccinated teenagers in NSW have been granted an exemption to attend end-of-year celebrations after it wassigned off by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard last week.

“Then we’ll sleep,” Gemma Adcock said.

Most students seeking the traditional schoolies experience will be heading to Byron Bay for their end-of-year celebrations,with the Queensland border still closed. The changing nature of this year’s HSC timetable meant several trips had to be rebooked or relocated. “I think it’s the best we’re going to get in this situation,” Gemma said.

The situation worked out in the favour of Marcus Mallard,who didn’t intend on going away. “I wasn’t even going to schoolies,but then other people had changes and there was a spot for me,” he said. “Now I’m excited.”

Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay campus principal Leiza Lewis said she was incredibly relieved to see the last of her 380 year 12 students safely through the door on Friday.

“It’s been a really long road. These students have experienced remote learning for two years now,they’ve had two waves of COVID,and there was a stage there when we didn’t really know whether we’d be sitting exams or not. That was quite stressful,” she said.

“Students were working through their HSC studies but not really knowing what they were working towards ... But we’ve reached the end. I think they’re relieved. We’re so proud of them and the teachers,and the administration staff have worked so hard to make it happen.”

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