What It’s Like Being in Year 12 During the Coronavirus Pandemic

It is an unpredictable time for school leavers.

If you are a Year 12 student, it’s safe to say that your final year of school is probably not turning out how you expected.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many schools have had to shut their doors and transition to online learning. While that’s undoubtedly a tricky situation for all teachers and students, it’s particularly stressful for Year 12s who are gearing up to sit their final exams.

Earlier this month, the Federal Education Minister Dan Tegan announced that the states have agreed all Year 12 students will finish high school this year, despite COVID-19 disruptions. However, it hasn’t been clear what format examinations will take.

It has been confirmed that the HSC will go ahead in New South Wales, and in Victoria, VCE exams have been pushed back to December. In Western Australia, they’re still exploring a variety of options, including reducing the amount of examinable content.

As Year 12 student Darcie Mitchell (WA) tells Student Edge, the uncertainty has got her peers feeling concerned for their futures.

"I think a lot of people are worried about the final ATAR score and getting into uni," Darcie says.

"There’s been a lack of communication, but I know no one knows what’s going on, so it’s a bit hard to reassure us."

Universities are already trying to find ways to alleviate the concerns of Year 12 students. The University of Western Australia revealed that students applying for admission to the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science degrees could apply using their predicted ATAR from the end of Year 11.

However, as Darcie explains, not everyone is satisfied with their Year 11 results. Additionally, she is nervous that Year 12s will be underprepared for their exams if they have been learning from home for months.

"We’re not worried that exams are going to be cancelled, it’s more like: What if exams are still on?"

"If we don’t understand the content, it’s hard to ask teachers to explain it again. You don’t really get the same help at home."

Having started learning remotely in March, Darcie says she’s had to get used to working on a number of platforms.

"Different teachers have different ways of doing things, so we have so many online platforms we’re using. We’ve got the school’s online portal, email, Microsoft Teams and Zoom," she says.

"They’re sending information through all of those, so it’s kind of an information overload, especially on a Monday morning."

really feeling for the year 12 students in Victoria ( and across Australia ) right now. Must be so tough :(

— 𝓬𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓪 (@hescityangel) April 7, 2020

While the main priority for Year 12s is finishing their studies, there are a number of other exciting aspects to being in your final year of high school that current students are missing out on because of coronavirus restrictions.

As Darcie tells us, it’s likely her cohort won’t get to experience events like their last sport carnival. Even more disappointingly, they’re unable to spend time with their peers at school, which means they can’t celebrate significant milestones together in person.

"As Year 12s, we’re getting our licenses and people are turning 18, so people are really stressing about that on a social level."

Being Head Girl of her high school, Darcie has helped set up an Instagram page for her cohort so they can still communicate and support one another.  

"We’ve got people to send in what they’re doing in isolation just to share it around on that page, so we can see what everyone’s doing," she says.

"I know last year all the Year 12 students were telling us we need to cherish every moment, and now we aren’t seeing people at all.

"It’s really strange."

australia and honestly i feel like i’m missing out on my whole year 12 experience and i’m super stressed cause y12 is already hard enough ugh i can’t wait for all this to be over 🥺

— zoe tinkler (@zoettinkler) March 30, 2020

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