In NSW and most states, it’s compulsory to stay in school until the age of seventeen and for a lot of students, this means getting about half way through Year 12. The legal leaving age was raised to encourage students to finish the HSC because the advantages are huge.
The last two years of high school are particularly important because they are designed to give you a more specific, in-depth understanding of content and to ready you for university, TAFE, or other tertiary education, the workforce and even adulthood. Statistics even suggest that students having completed their HSC have higher employability skills and are more likely to be employed because recruiters look favourably upon the commitment taken to complete high school.
A recent study has even found that nearly 50% of early school leavers (those who did not complete Year 12) felt some form of social exclusion including low income, health issues or disability and unemployment. Ten percent of these experienced ‘deep’ social exclusion. In other words, dropping out has been proven to have negative circumstances that can impact your life on the long-run.
Stay in school: Apart from the advantages listed above, the last two years of schoolare filled with experiences you wouldn’t want to miss:
- If you’re interested in tertiary education, you will know that most courses now require completion of HSC to enrol. Completing Year 12 is a sure way to get there!
- Finishing Year 12 will give you more options for the future. The opportunities are endless!
- If you’re unsure of what you want to do, staying in school is the best thing you can do. Year 11 and 12 will give you an opportunity to select areas of interest within your subjects and explore whether you would like to turn them into a career.
- Think about how socially excluded you’d feel if all your friends are in school and you’re not. You’d be missing out!
- Learning is enjoyable and especially during the HSC, you’ll get a greater choice to do what interests you most.
- During the HSC, some pretty important changes in your relationships will take place. You will develop or strengthen your ties with teachers and they will be your mentors and advisors rather than figures of authority. You will be on a more equal level as you assume a senior role in your school and get closer and closer to being an adult.
- School can also advance your career while you’re still in Year 11 and 12 because it can help you secure work experienc eplacements that link to the workplace. What better way to find out what tertiary education to continue onto than by doing some work experience while you’re still in school?!
- Year 11 and 12 will be filled with the most memorable moments of school. Your friendships will strengthen, your year group will come together and you will get a strong sense of belonging when graduating as a class.
WHAT ABOUT EXAMS?
It is true that the HSC period can be stressful and it certainly requires a lot of work. These are the most important years of high school so you should give them the merit and attention they deserve. The key is in striking a balance betweenyour life in school and your life outside it, and doing your best by prioritising time to study. While the HSC is not the end of the world, it does have the potential to make your life a whole lot easier if you do well.
Keep your options open. You may have decided on a certain course with an average ATAR or ruled out university altogether because you don’t think you’ll get in, but don’t aim for this. Aim as high as you can because you will only be opening more doors for yourself. Some students have to change their preferences at the last minute because they underestimated their abilities and by the time their results come back, they are surprised by how well they did. Aim high and your results will follow!
If you’re freaking out, remember you are not the first or the last to have to go through this. You are surrounded by people who have completed their HSC and have come out just fine, and through your experience, will have the opportunity to help out those who will go through the year after you. Ask lots of questions, seek advice and put in the effort – before you know it, it will all be over and you’ll remember it as a piece ofcake!