Students survive English ATAR exam

What has long been regarded as the biggest and perhaps the scariest of the Year 12 ATAR exams is done and dusted for 2019.

Thousands of students both around the State and in the South West took their seats in unison on Friday morning to put pen to paper and complete this year’s English exam.

“I’d modelled what I wanted to write based on past assessments so I kind of knew what I was going to write before I went in,” Bunbury Catholic College student Ben Fulton said.

“It was pretty good, it wasn’t a bad exam ... one down (five to go).”

Ben, his classmate Max Leblanc and top Grace Christian School English student Sarah Woods, all said they had felt well prepared going into the exam, having spent weeks going back over previous assignments and studying the syllabus.

“I think it’s also about the mindset,” Max said. “Only half of the exam you can prepare for, the rest you just have to learn to adapt to.”

According to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority, 10,377 students sat the English exam Statewide, easily making it the biggest in terms of enrolments.

While the SCSA declined to comment on the nature or content of this year’s exam, BCC head of English Brigid Terry said students would have had to have been particularly careful when reading the questions and instructions.

With English out of the way, all three students said they would now turn their attention to the looming science exams.

“I don’t think this was the scariest one, chemistry is my scariest,” Ben said.

This year’s results are set to be released via the SCSA student portal on December 19, a month after the final exam has been sat.