THE Hunter's lockdown is affecting students' ability to sit their trial Higher School Certificate exams, with schools either postponing or moving the tests online.
St Francis Xavier's College Hamilton principal Greg Ptolemy told students last week their trials, scheduled to start on August 9, would be postponed and run from August 16 to 30.
"This decision reflects our desire to provide the students with a meaningful examination experience including vital feedback, prior to them undertaking the external HSC papers," he said.
"In making this determination, we are aware that there may be ongoing changes relating to the health advice which will require a further reconsideration of this approach.
"Should such situations eventuate, then we will seek to provide information regarding alternative approaches as soon as possible."
St Philip's Christian College Waratah principal Pam O'Dea said the school had moved the start of its trial exams from August 12 to 13.
She said the tests would be held online as timed open book HSC trial examination assessment tasks.
Every student will make affidavits their work is their own and the school will compare their performance with their previous results.
"Our learning management system is such that we can release [the paper] at a certain time and then close it at the end of that time," she said.
"We're requiring that within 20 minutes of the closure of the exam that they [using a PDF creation app on their phones] scan it and send it to us online and it has to be uploaded.
"After that time if they haven't uploaded it, it's zero.
"But they can call in that time if there's a technical error and then they can drive their paper here. They have to keep all copies of their written papers - they're all handwritten, they're not online."
The school will cater for disability provisions.
Ms O'Dea said students across the state were experiencing a range of emotions.
"I think they're nervous, they're apprehensive, we're trying to assure them we will do everything possible to support them with the fairest outcome for each individual student," she said.
"Obviously this is not what they want to do, they've worked hard and this is the culmination of 13 years and two years of a lot of work and I feel it's so disappointing, but we just have to help them to keep positive and keep working towards their end goal and there will be light at the end of the tunnel."
She said the school focused on developing a growth mindset and thinking about "what can come out of this that's good" and "how do we rise and win out of this".
Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College principal Suzanne Bain said her school had not yet held its trials and was waiting for an update about the lockdown to decide how to proceed.
"We have made some alternative preparations so they won't be disadvantaged in any way should the trials not happen... there would be another way to assess [them]," Ms Bain said.
She said the year 12 students were face to face with teachers over Microsoft Teams for all of their 50 minute periods each day and had daily pastoral care meetings.
