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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy

Sleepless nights, dramatic dreams and a ‘cutie patootie’ paper: NSW students start their HSC exams

High school students sit at small tables doing an exam in a school gym
Students at Colo high school in Sydney sit their year 12 HSC English exam. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

There were no tears at Colo high school on Tuesday. No curveballs, either. Instead, students emerged from their first HSC exam, bleary-eyed but excited, to chatter in nervous huddles.

“You can tell with just a look whether it’s been OK,” says Vanessa Pilgrim, deputy principal and former English teacher at the North Richmond school. Two decades into teaching, handling nerves hasn’t gotten any easier.

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