As Dubbo high school students prepare to do Year 12 Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams, stress levels across the city are mixed for some students and their parents.
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Students are ready to sit for tests that will give them an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), an ATAR ranks students with their peers.
Many students suffer anxiety, stress or depression over the HSC and ATAR score despite only 20 per cent of university admissions now relying on the ATAR for entry.
Dubbo Senior Campus principal Andrew Jones said teachers, parents and students have a role to play in making sure the quest for a good ATAR score is as stress-free as possible.
“There are two sides to the ATAR story, one is the academic side and one is the well-being side,” he said.
“We are here to support our students because we do recognise it can be a stressful time for them. We have a ‘strive for success’ program in place so our students are mentored and we make sure they are using their time to the best of their ability.
“We sit down with the students and their parents, because the parents are important too, and give them advice on certain pathways that are available to the students.
“Also, over the holidays our school will be open and we’ll be running free tutoring programs for all subjects for all of our HSC students, so the kids will have daily access to teachers who will come in on their holidays to make sure our students are as well prepared as possible.”
Dubbo College student Milla Ross said she is not stressed about the HSC and is not too worried about an ATAR score.
“I have decided not to get overwhelmed by it all, I just study in small blocks because I am not too stressed about getting really high marks,” she said.
“I won’t go to university straight away and when I do my ATAR won’t be counted for it anyway. My approach has relieved a lot of the stress associated with the HSC and that has made school more enjoyable for me. The school programs have helped me a lot with ways to plan out how I study and prepare.”
Fellow student Peter Harrison has a structured approach to his study and has expectations that he admits have contributed to some stress.
“I study in larger blocks, a couple of hours on one subject then a couple more on another,” he said.
“I have also found the programs that the school has in place very helpful because I am not super organised.
“I feel like a lot of pressure is on me because I am striving for a goal, but I do have family members who have been through it before and have helped me dial down my stress a little bit, that’s been very helpful.”