THERE were smiles of sheer relief on Monday as Tamworth High School’s year 12’s walked out of their general mathematics exam.
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The day marked the start of week two of the high school certificate (HSC) tests.
The two-and-a-half hour test consisted of two sections of multiple choice questions and five questions with short answer components.
Lachlan Smith said he’s feeling hopeful after the exam.
The maths test marked the halfway point for him in the exam process.
“I thought the things that I studied were not so much in the exam, but the exam went quite well,” he said.
“I had English last week, maths this week, and next week I have a construction and legal studies exam on Thursday – so that week is going to be a lot of fun.”
As for life after school, Mr Smith said he was assessing his options.
“I’m quite surprised that I made it this far, I thought I was going to drop out in year 11, but I’m quite happy with myself that I got this far,” he said.
“It’s scary, but the teachers really prepare you mentally to go into the exam and not just stress out. I’m hoping to get into surveying or real estate, they both interest me.
Fellow student Georgia Taggart meantime, was quietly confident of achieving good marks.
“It’s a relief now that math is finished, it’s four exams out of the way for myself and two to go,” she said. “It’s a big weight off my shoulders.
“You tend to cover a lot in class, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all going to be in the exam, so you try and focus on everything.
“I found what I covered was mainly in the exam, math isn’t my strong subject but I am feeling quite confident.”
Miss Taggart said she’ll sit her final HSC exam next week, and she was happy with the spacing in between which allowed time to study.
After a gap year next year she said she was hopeful of gaining a career in the military.
“The HSC means a lot, I’ve put in a lot of work over the last two years and have never really been a big academic at all,” she said.
“To see the result at the end of this makes it all worth while and I know the hard work that I’ve put in will hopefully pay off.”