Parents play a fundamental role in supporting HSC students emotionally and logistically. Free and open communication, realistic expectations and practical assistance are the keys to navigating the challenges of this critical academic journey. When the students remain at the forefront of academic challenges facing heightened stress, rigorous study and critical decision-making, parents play an essential role in supporting the success of their children.
A change in learning habits and environment creates a series of challenges for school children and also for parents. Our HSC tutoring centre in Punchbowl is a program designed to help high school students prepare for the HSC exams. It involves one-on-one to group tutoring sessions with experienced tutors who specialise in specific subjects. It is an exam that assesses a student’s knowledge and skills in various subjects and the results can determine a student’s eligibility for university admission and future career prospects.
“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.” — Plato
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is an important milestone for high school students in Australia. The HSC year is filled with highs and lows and comes with its hurdles, personal insights, thoughts about the future transition to adulthood and applications for the universities. While this journey belongs to the students, having the support, guidance and understanding of a parent helps the student to go a long way.
What is the HSC?
The HSC stands for Higher School Certificate and it means that the student has completed their education at a high secondary level. It is the highest educational award in New South Wales. To be eligible, students must meet the HSC course requirements and sit for the statewide HSC examinations. The HSC is an internationally recognized credential that offers a strong foundation for students wishing to pursue tertiary qualifications, vocational training or employment.
How to Maximise HSC Marks?
Various strategies get involved along with studying hard. There are certain essential factors involved –
a) Pay attention early:
As the assessment marks are collected in the last 4 terms before the actual examination, a student examination, a student must pay proper attention to the school work, including homework, assessments, projects, behaviour and more. One should not leave things for the last minute and should not rush things.
b) Choose subjects wisely:
HSC subjects are chosen by students late at the end of Year 1. and should be dealt with with careful consideration. These are the subjects that are chosen for the next 2 years and changing the subjects becomes quite difficult and can be considered to be a waste of time.
In total, students are required to select 12 credit points for Year 11, and 10 credit points for Year 12. The average subject takes up 2 credit points, with extension subjects such as Extension 1 math taking up 1 credit point.
c) Time management:
As the students need to study at least a minimum of 5 subjects, it is advisable to spread their time more evenly across the subjects. It is easier to improve 60-70 marks but it would be much harder to improve 90–100, and sometimes impossible. It is wrong to spend half of one’s study time on one subject and do well while letting the other subjects.
The HSC journey typically involves:
Intense Study : HSC subjects are highly demanding and they require detailed study, exam preparation, and completion of the course.
Pressure to Excel : Many students might feel immense pressure to achieve high ATAR scores to secure their entry into the universities they want.
Emotional Stress : Dealing with academic stress, anxiety, and the fear of underperforming can affect the students’ emotional well-being.
Balancing Act : Students must learn how to balance schoolwork, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and social lives, leading to a busy schedule.
Navigating the Future : The HSC marks the transition to adulthood, with students making strong decisions about their future careers and higher education.
Role of HSC Tutoring for Students and Parents –
Help them set goals
Setting a proper goal is the key to HSC motivation, without clear goals, the students might feel aimless and lose their drive. Goals give high school students something tangible to aim for, keeping them on track. They will give something to remind them about the hurdles. It is essential to create smart goals, that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. One can focus on creating a blend of progress-based goals, and marks-based ones start with things, they can control and encourage the process in pursuit of larger goals.
Create milestones
Creating milestones is a good way to keep the students motivated throughout the HSC training. Professional tutors help the students to think of their studies in terms of smaller, manageable tasks, and praise or reward them when they achieve. This can help them to feel a sense of accomplishment as they complete each task, it can motivate them to keep going. HSC tutors guide the students to get creative with the smaller milestones. The tutors can also help the students to set long-term goals for their careers. By getting a clear idea of what they want to achieve, the children will have something to strive for, which will help them with their HSC motivation.
Remove distractions
During the HSC training, the students must try to minimise distractions and stay focused on their studies. The tutors help to create a quiet HSC focus space, whether that is in their room or a separate room with a desk. One should sort out time to watch television or hear about music, as well as encourage other people in the house to respect study time.
Encourage breaks and sleep
It is important to find the balance between studying and taking breaks to keep the students focused and motivated to avoid demotivation. Studying and preparing for the HSC can be stressful and the students will need regular breaks to rest and recharge to maintain their motivation for exams. Every parent should encourage the students to take breaks throughout the day to do something they enjoy and to keep up their energy. Also, they should not avoid sedentary breaks, like watching television or texting, as this won’t refresh them in the same way as getting up from their seats will. The students can follow the Pomodoro technique to help them with their HSC focus. With this theory, a day of study can be broken down into 25-minute focus periods followed by 5-minute breaks. It is also essential to ensure that the students are getting enough sleep.
Offer support
As a parent, one can offer immense support to the students during their HSC preparation by just being there for them when they need it. One needs to encourage them to ask for help when they are struggling with a particular subject or task. As a parent, one can even offer to help them study by quizzing them on their knowledge. It is important to remember that the HSC can be challenging for the students and they might experience stress and anxiety. One should be there emotionally and offer good support, whether through listening to them or helping them find ways to manage their stress.
Celebrate successes
Throughout the HSC training and coaching, there will be many opportunities for the students to succeed, whether that is achieving a high mark on an exam or even completing a challenging task. Celebrating these successes and encouraging them to be proud of their achievements. Whether one chooses to praise and recognize, it is the key to let the student know that they are proud of their hard work and achievements, encouraging them to feel proud of themselves. This also helps the students to maintain their motivation and feel more confident in their abilities. This can help them to stay focused on their studies and achieve greater success in the future.
Focus on the bigger picture
It is important to help the students to focus on the larger scenario during the HSC training. While achieving good marks, it is also important to remember that the HSC is just one crucial part of a varied life. Keeping it all in perspective will reduce the feelings of panic, which will allow them to put their energy into achieving their goals and staying healthy. A motivated student is a highly successful student and when it finally comes down to them, one can play a key role in helping the students for motivation for exams.
Reach out to us at Kalibre Education, We provide a highly professional HSC tutoring centre in Punchbowl and Greenacre with fully qualified teachers to deliver detailed training and tuition to students and help them excel and improve. HSC system is a complex process, and hereby, we help to understand its functioning for both students and parents. Our tutors can provide all the required information and teach how to prepare for HSC internal and external assessments.
