Taking the HSC written exams

Arrive early

On the day of the first English exam, you must be at the exam centre by 9 am. For all other papers, you must be at the exam centre at least 10 minutes before the start of each exam.

Reading time

Reading time is for reading, and NO writing or highlighting may be undertaken during reading time. The presiding officer will advise you when you may use a pen. Make sure that you read the instructions and the questions carefully in order to determine exactly what you are being asked to do. Read more about what to expect in the exam paper.

Plan your time

Take a few minutes to plan your time according to how many marks a question is worth. You should plan to spend more time on questions worth more marks.

Plan your answer

When writing time begins jot down the main points you intend to make as you think through your answer. Then, you can use your list to help you stick to the topic. In an exam situation, it's easy to forget points if you don't write them down.

If you run out of space to write your answers

You should request an extra writing booklet or extra writing paper from the exam supervisor if you require more space to answer a question.

Write your student number and centre number on your answer booklets

Write your student number and exam centre number on all writing booklets, special answer books and answer sheets, unless that information is preprinted. Do not write your name or your school's name.

Make a serious attempt at answering the exam paper

You must make a genuine effort to answer the exam questions. The consequences of a non-serious attempt or non-attempt may be significant and include not receiving an award in the course concerned, which might make you ineligible for the award of the Higher School Certificate.

Conduct during the exams

Make sure you have read and understood the sections of the 2012 Higher School Certificate Rules and Procedures guide that relate to exam conduct and exam rules.

Malpractice

All work presented in the exams must be your own or must be acknowledged appropriately. Malpractice, including plagiarism, could lead to you receiving zero marks and will jeopardise your HSC results. Read more about malpractice in the 2012 Higher School Certificate Rules and Procedures guide.

When can you leave the exam room?

You cannot leave the exam room (except in an emergency) during the first hour of the exam, or during the last 15 minutes of the exam.

When the exam is finished

Stop writing immediately when told to do so by the supervisor, and follow the supervisor's instructions. You must not take any writing booklets, whether used or not, from the exam room. All parts of the exam that must be handed in for marking will be identified with an orange-coloured stripe along the top or down the side of the front page.

What happens if you're sick during the HSC exams or have an accident on the way there?

Read more about the illness/misadventure process.

Exam supervisors

We employ more than 5000 people to coordinate and supervise the HSC exams around the state. The Presiding Officer is the person responsible for running each exam centre - usually a school - to meet the Board's strict security and quality control procedures. Presiding Officers are helped by a number of other supervisors. It's not uncommon for retired teachers and principals to apply for these positions, saying they like to feel they are still helping students with the HSC.