Wagga Wagga High School principal Chris Davies and vice captain Cameron Rutland following the first HSC exam for 2025. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
HSC exams can be daunting for many students and for Wagga Wagga High School vice captain Cameron Rutland, the nerves were present throughout his first exam.
But like many of his peers, he took English-Paper 1 in his stride, with his sights set on finishing school in four weeks’ time.
“I’ve just finished the first exam, and I’m feeling pretty good,” he said.
“We started with an unseen text module. We had five questions about a text that we had never seen before. The next few questions were about the common module, which was the book Vertigo.
“I feel like it went pretty well. I knew my quotes, which were good, and knew my techniques. Once I got into the rhythm of the exam, I was feeling good, and I felt I did my best.”
Cameron had nothing but praise for his high school and teachers, who he said equipped him with everything he needed to succeed post-school.
“The Wagga High teachers, and especially in this case the English teachers, provided us with so many resources,” he said.
“We were given books on books on books. There was always a willingness to help and reach out. We’re (the students) all comfortable. We’re all pretty relaxed about it, and that’s largely because of the support we were given.
“Ultimately, life takes you where life is going to take you and a mark at the end of the day isn’t going to define you. So while it’s normal to stress, you can’t let it control you and [you] do your best.”
Cameron still has five exams to sit, including English Paper 2, Design and Technology, Maths and Investigating Science.
With only weeks of schooling remaining, Cameron said he, like many of his classmates, was ready to take a break from study, and travel over the next 12 months.
“I’m pretty happy with how I live out in the real world. I believe that I have the capabilities and strengths to do it,” he said.
“I’ll probably look to do some full-time work for a year or two before studying. I’d love to do some travelling around the country and see what the rest of Australia looks like.
“Once that’s all done, I’d love to maybe look into policing and spaces around that.”
Wagga Wagga High School principal Chris Davies said he had nothing but admiration for Cameron and his peers who were undertaking the exams.
Mr Davies admitted that marks weren’t the be-all and end-all of making a path after school and said the school had done everything it could to support students in whichever direction they chose.
“There’s a lot of responsibility put on the individual and for them to take ownership of what they’re actually doing after school,” he said.
“Just looking at Cameron, for example, he’s seen a lot of growth personally just from his role as vice captain. He, like many at the school, have grown in confidence, and that will really serve them moving into careers or work after school.
“A lot of our students work with part-time jobs as well, so they actually have some financial support as well.
“I think the students with what they’re actually doing externally, whether it’s to do with their sporting clubs or the extracurricular or their work – most of them actually do – they’re actually helping their own transition into the workplace or out of this school.
“We work from the start of Year 11 … with multiple universities, including CSU. Here, we work with TAFE from Year 9.
“We also have a range of links to traineeships and apprenticeships. So we are constantly working with our students to show them different avenues and opportunities, and to make sure they can pick what they are really interested in.”
