The first of 17 days of exams kicked off today, with students and teachers generally happy with English paper 1.

For the Class of 2025 it’s been a journey of resilience – many starting high school with Black Summer bushfires still burning and the COVID pandemic lockdowns just around the corner.

Two sets of twins kicked off their HSC exams at Gorokan High School today, excited to be started and looking forward to finishing soon.

Asked how it feels to go through the HSC with a sibling, Indianna Dutton started answering, “I’m very excited” with her sister Isabella chiming in “that I get to sit next to her”, the identical twins completing the sentence in unison.

Fraternal twins Lars and Jaxon Oxenbridge were also happy to be going through the exams together with Lars expressing his relief of “not having to sit next to a stranger”.

Both sets of siblings are taking three out of five subjects the same.

Making an entrance

The prize for Coolest Arrival at the first exam must go to Logan Miltiadou of Maclean High School, who rocked up at the rowing club where the exams were held on his jet ski.

It’s not his usual mode of transport to school, but an accident on the main road from Yamba to Maclean ruled out the usual route.

Principal James Witchard said if students were concerned about a delay, their first action should be to call their school, and nobody should be putting themselves in danger to get to an exam, but Logan must get 10 out of 10 for commitment.

“It was quick-thinking that got Logan to the exam on time, and he has to be commended for that, although I wouldn’t recommend it as part of his routine for the rest of the exams,” Mr Witchard said.

All students due to sit the exam were able to do so with the full allotted time, but the school is working with NESA on misadventure provisions due the possibility of additional stress.

For Albury High School’s Mary Quinn her exam preparation tested her artistic skills.

As a visual learner, in the lead-up to her English Advanced exam, she used drawings to remember quotes and key themes from the texts she studied.

“For example, if the quote had something to do with a country, I would draw a picture of the world as I can remember pictures more than I can remember words,” she said.

Although she was nervous beforehand, she was happy with how the exam went and felt prepared.

Classmate Toby Spinks said he was “pretty happy with how I went, I got through all the questions, and I am pretty confident with how I’m going to do I think”.

Batemans Bay High School students were among those students who entered Year 7 in 2020, with Black Summer bushfires still burning.

Those intense events are in the past for this resilient group – and now so is their first HSC exam.

Cheyanne Townsend said the questions in the English paper “made sense” and students felt supported by English head teacher Erin Shephard and their other English teachers/

“She is helpful and kind and came to ask how it went and how we felt,” Cheyanne said.

A proud Ms Sheppard was outside to greet students them when they emerged from the exam room at Mackay Park.

“I'm incredibly proud of how they applied themselves to their study and to their final year, and for the resilience and the development of them as human beings throughout this experience,” Ms Sheppard said.

Around 200 students sat the HSC English exam at Endeavour Sports High, a school that may be known for its excellence in sports but has also lifted its combined average HSC score by more than five marks since 2019.

One student who embodies the education and sport ethos is Noah Chamberlain, an Aussie rules star of the future who is in line to join an AFL club next month via the competition’s draft. The 18-year-old also wants to do a business degree.

“It’s been tough but good for me now that the footy has died down a bit,” he said. “I’ve been able to balance things out and spend more time studying, and the school has been fantastic in supporting me to do both.”  

Classmate Evie Gooding said the exam “was tough but I am definitely glad that’s out of the way”.

Felicia Dimitriadis said the extended response was the trickiest question – “just because it was a lot to fit in a 45-minute time frame”.

Cheers, high-fives and sighs of relief could be heard across the school when Year 12 students from Doonside Technology High School walked out of their first HSC exam. Eagerly waiting to hear their thoughts and how they went was Relieving Principal, Paul Karbon and Head of English, Matt Metzke.

“I’m so excited after the first English exam. Students have come out really encouraged and positive, which is a great sign. It’s been a great year with these students,” Mr Karbon said.

“English paper 1 was really good! Lots of broad questions, but also some things students had to show a lot of insight for, show their understanding and showcase just how prepared they were.”

After completing her very first HSC exam, Anbarin Wasseh was full of relief and gratitude.

“Our teachers prepared us really well. I was nervous going into the exam, but now I feel really relieved and happy, and I think that I did well,” Anbarin said.

“I want to say thank you so much for everything my teachers have done. You have prepared us so well. Feeling so relieved after my first HSC exam just shows the dedication you have put into our learning.”

English teachers at South Sydney High School said the advanced English and standard English papers were accessible and challenging.

Advanced English teacher and Year 12 advisor Christy Khouri said the language was accessible to students but some of the concepts students were asked to interpret, such as the human condition, were challenging.

Student Debs Shatari said she liked the long response in the paper and felt well prepared for the rest of the paper.

“My nerves were extreme, this has been building up for the past 12 months, so it’s good to have the first one over,” she said.

South Sydney High School fielded 21 Advanced English students, 37 standard English students and 17 students for the EALD paper.

Standard English teacher Adriana Nicholas said: “It was a thoughtful paper 1 with a couple of curveballs to keep them thinking. Our students were ready and capable. I’m proud of them.”

There was a wave of relief as year 12 students exited their first HSC exam at Keira High School in Wollongong this morning. 

From juggling school-based apprentices to learning English as their second language, students have been studying hard over the past two years for this moment. 

Student Hamish Cox said it was a good paper, “especially the long response, it related to our text very well regarding the endurance of the human spirit”.

Head of English Sandra Currathers said this year's English paper was relevant and interesting for students, but threw one surprise, with no visual text this year. 

"The amount of reading to other years was probably the same and the difficulty of questions were on par, " she said.

Glendale Technology High Head English teacher Karly Dolle debriefed with her students about the exam, noting they had answered questions as discussed and included key aspects of the text, George Orwell’s classic 1984.

Glad to have one exam down, student Emilee Murray is now focused on what lies ahead.

“I just have to think once they’re done, they’re done, don’t think about it again,” she said.

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” classmate Olivia Eirth agreed.

Early university entry offers are often cited as discouraging students from working hard for their HSC, but not in the case of future primary school teacher Nathaniel Hearn.

He’s already been accepted into Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) at the University of Newcastle, having fallen in love with the job during Year 10 work experience at Edgeworth Public School, which he attended.

At Davidson High School Lilli Dawson studied The Crucible for Advanced English, while Liam Morony studied Billy Elliot in standard English. Both were happy with English paper 1.

“I really liked the essay question because it was so broad and easily adjustable,” Lilli said.

“I felt pretty good about the paper. The essay question fit in well with the essays I had practised and I felt the short answer questions were straightforward,” Liam said.

Peter Papilos, head teacher English at Mosman High, said both standard and advanced papers, the comprehension paper, texts and questions were very fair and reflected the teaching and learning experiences in the classroom.

“The experience of today’s exam should give students confidence for the second English paper tomorrow.”

Barrenjoey High School HSC students were, like many around the state, happy that the exams had begun and the first paper was out of the way.

While student Jude thought it wasn’t as horrible as he was expecting, student David was glad to finish in time.

“I finished with about a minute to spare but got everything out in the time, so happy with that,” he said.

Fellow student Milla felt the essay section was easier than the short answers.

“Essay was good but the short answers I found hard but glad that they did not have a compare question,” she said.

Wellington High School student Mason Hill was elated to be through day one of the HSC.

“It went great, so far. I was able to answer all the questions and that intense pressure in the lead-up to the first exam is now relieved a little bit,” he said. 

School staff were prepped and ready for students finishing their very first exam, with moral support and lollies waiting for them at the door. 

It provided a much-needed boost, Mason said.

“It's not as bad as everyone thinks it is, or what you build it up as in your mind,” he said. 

And the advice he offers students looking to sit the HSC next year, is to start studying early.

“Do a lot more study than you even think you need to do, and don't leave it until you're about to sit the exam. You’ll remember it better if you come prepared.”

More than 100 students at Whitebridge High School in Lake Macquarie sat the first of two HSC English exams this morning.

Gemma Weeks said she had not found the exam too bad and had prepared well.

“I found the trial harder I think, probably because I wasn’t as prepared for what I was going into,” she said.

“I was definitely still pushed for time though and some of the language was a little challenge to decode.”

Classmate Cadell Pheils said using technology had come in very handy while studying for the exams.

“I’ve got an app that reads my responses back to me in an AI voice. It means I’m able to multitask in my studies. Listen to the answer, revise and think. It really helps,” he said.

Tamworth has been getting right behind students as they start their HSC exams.

Staff and students encouraged Year 12 students at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School.

“May your efforts be rewarded and this next step bring you confidence and achievement,” the school posted on its Facebook page.

At nearby Peel High School, students were all smiles ahead of their first exam.

Broken Hill and Willyama high schools held their exams in the Broken Hill High hall, with 90 students in total sitting English paper 1.

Broken Hill High principal Ross Mackay said his staff were excited for the exams to start and proud of students’ efforts.

“We were proud and honoured we were able to support the students from Willyama High School, and hosting a joint examination centre while we share a site is a commonsense solution,” he said.

“We hope the supports Broken Hill High has offered have made the journey to the HSC examinations a little easier for all students of Broken Hill.”

From Queanbeyan High School, English teacher Leonil Pepingco summed up for many teachers the pride in the Class of 2025: “What we’ve got in the hall right now is a bunch of kids that are looking to shape the future of Australia.

“Some of them are going to surprise us, some of them are going to excel and some of them are going to be our new leaders. So I’m pretty excited for what comes next.”