"For me it didn't seem worth staying an extra year when I could get what I needed this year."
Year 13 student Simon Smith is sitting NCEA Level 3 and scholarship in physics, statistics and physical education. He said he'd been sitting exams for a few years now and wasn't at all stressed about this year's NCEA.
"I've got a pretty good timetable. My six exams are spread out as opposed to last year when they were all clumped together."
He said he had been studying a couple of hours each evening as the start date loomed.
"That always increases the closer it gets."
He plans to study Engineering at Canterbury University.
Year 10 student Jessica Lamb is gearing up for NCEA Level 1. She said she was not so worried about the exams despite this being her first time.
"I don't really think NCEA level 1 counts for much," Lamb said. "It's definitely Level 2 and 3 that are important.
"So if things don't go so well this year, there's always next."
John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh said as well as putting on extra tutorials, the school has been teaching students mindfulness techniques to help them deal with exam stress.
That included talking to students about healthy eating, getting enough sleep, avoiding social media and reducing work hours so they were in the best frame of mind to study and take their exams.
"There has been an exponential rise, in all high schools I believe, in stress and anxiety among students.
"We also send messages to parents about being supportive and helpful rather than overbearing or critical."
He said the exams were "high stakes" for a number of students, including those who needed the exam credits to pass NCEA, and Year 13 students who needed to the best possible results to get into to limited-entry university programmes such as law, medicine and engineering.
Walsh said he also advised students not to stew over how each exam went.
"Once you have sat the exam, forget about it. You can't change the result so you may as well park it up, forget about it and work on the next one."
Western Heights High School deputy principal Lyn Henshilwood said staff had been running extra tutorials during and after school in the lead up to exams.
"We have a lot of seniors coming in for those extra tutorials. Staff are offering extra support and we are really appreciative of the support our students are getting from their parents and caregivers during this time.
"We are aware our Cambridge students have been doing exams since the beginning of this term and they are most likely doing the NCEA scholarship exams too, so we are mindful of the heavy loads some of our students are carrying."
Henshilwood said the school's Student Support Centre was open and there was huge email contact between students and their teachers.
"Our staff are really caring, we have students emailing their teachers in the middle of the night when they're up studying and come across a problem. It's such a change from five years ago when we wouldn't have given teachers' emails to students. Now it is the preferred method of communication."
NZQA deputy chief executive Kristine Kilkelly said about 140,000 students were preparing for 120 exam sessions this year - about 8000 students will be sitting NCEA exams online.
"Our recent evaluation shows that nearly all survey responses from students, who have taken part in a digital exam, preferred an online exam rather than written exams," she said.
"This is reflected in participation in this year's NCEA exams online, with a 60 per cent increase in participation compared to 2017."
NZQA aims to have NCEA exams available online for 14 subjects at different levels in 2019. The range of subjects will be further expanded in 2020 and beyond.
NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams run from November 7 through to November 30.
Additional reporting Samantha Motion
NCEA exams
• 8815 Bay of Plenty students will sit their exams
• 445 Bay students will sit scholarship exams
• 140,000 students nationwide will sit exams
• 8000 students nationwide will sit exams online
Study tips
• Set regular routines of study
• Choose a quiet, airy, well-lit place to study
• Set study goals. Daily goals. Weekly goals. Long-term goals
• Know your deadlines
• Make a study timetable
• Do a small amount of study on each subject every night
• Have lots of breaks, e.g. break every 50 minutes for 10 minutes
• Eat healthily, sleep regularly and exercise
• Reward yourself regularly
• If stressed, ask for help. Your teachers want you to succeed
Source: www.studyit.org.nz
