THE School Certificate exams are finally over and the school year is coming to an end for most people in Year 10.

With the legal leaving age being raised to 17 years of age it might be thought that the Year 10 School Certificate is unnecessary.

But this year every student in Year 10 across NSW sat their exams.

Students choosing to continue their schooling are faced with HSC exams in Year 11 and 12 and are given the opportunity to select the subjects they wish to take.

These subject choices will affect their educational life once they finish their schooling, particularly for students going on to university.

This puts pressure on students as they are faced with decisions that will sculpt the next two years of their life.

HSC exams add to the pressure the students are about to face.

But is the pressure really necessary?

If students in Year 12 happen to crack under the pressure and fail their exams they can always choose to enter university later as a mature aged student.

However, many students may choose not to enter university at all and exams often do not give a true reflection of a student’s academic abilities.

Many students do far better in class then they do in exams because of all the pressure.

Pressure can have a negative impact on students’ well being and often results in students underachieving.

Why can’t students be given a mark based purely on the work they have done in class?

As a student I have felt the pressure of exams and I have noticed that some students thrive under pressure while others don’t do as well.

Perhaps in the future we will see a change to the schooling system.