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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Nick Visser

Bacon, eggs and Bowie: how year 12 English students tackled ‘human strength and vulnerability’ in HSC paper

Kayden Tran, 18, a Canley Vale high school student, after finishing his first HSC exam of 2026
Kayden Tran, 18, a Canley Vale high school student, after finishing his first HSC exam of 2026. Photograph: Teagan Glenane/The Guardian

“How does the composer of your prescribed text offer you opportunities to examine assumptions about human strength and vulnerability?”

This was the bamboozling English question tens of thousands of year 12 students sat down to answer on the first day of their final school exams.

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