The Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams, just like the Roman republic, seem scary at first but can be overcome, Dubbo teens are showing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The city’s Year 12 students are gradually nearing the end of the final leg of their secondary education.
On Tuesday Dubbo Christian School students made their best efforts to conquer the ancient history paper.
Zajkel Zaia was happy with the exam and its “clear questions”.
She has completed four exams since the HSC began on October 16 with English.
While the exams are a significant challenge, she’s concentrated on the task at hand.
“Honestly, it’s probably not as scary as you’d think,” she said.
“There’s a lot of anxiety going on before you go into the exam but… the exams and the questions they’re not as hard as you’d think, not as scary as you’d think.”
A student with a leaning towards the arts - extension history, extension English and drama are the three exams she has left - Zajkel has thrown herself into ancient history.
It may typically attract fewer students than maths, but she’s embraced the subject and finds support from shared experiences with classmates.
“It’s definitely in my experience a lot better with smaller classes because you get to be one-on-one with teachers and obviously get to be a lot closer with your classmates,” she said.
“And that sort of helps when it comes to your exams because then you can all discuss study material and that sort of thing, and allows for a more comfortable feel going into the HSC because you’ve got your peers with you that you’re really close with.
“You’re all in the same boat.”
History was a favourite hobby that turned into a long suit for Kailum Jones.
“It’s just something I’ve liked since I was super young,” he said.
“I always just read up history, so it was more like a hobby and then when it was an option to do in the HSC I thought I might as well.
“It’s always been something I’ve been generally good at.”
He’s hoping for a strong result and to perhaps pursue a career in the field.
The course covered Pompeii and Herculaneum, Athens, and two different Roman topics - Julius Caesar and the fall of the Roman republic.
“And the last one, the fall of the Roman republic would be my favourite because Roman stuff’s good,” Kailum said.
More than 70,000 NSW students are tackling their HSC written exams this year, with the last to be held on November 7.
Results are to be sent out on December 14.
Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
