Brains in gear: exams under way

DONNA WALSH/ Waikato Times

HITTING THE BOOKS: Melville High School Year 12 students, from left, Harry Ridley, 16, Alana Tocker, 17, and Shona Tatsumi, 16, get in some last-minute study before their Level 2 biology exam.

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It's not a good time of year to be a teenager.

Waikato students have joined tens of thousands nationwide sitting their Level 1, 2 and 3 NCEA examinations this week and next.

Melville High School student Harry Ridley, 16, was pretty confident heading into his Year 12 biology exam yesterday.

"Today should go fairly good. We've got a good teacher," he said.

Harry is sitting seven Level 2 (Year 12) NCEA exams over the two weeks, and has being studying hard since the beginning of term 4.

"Study is harder than it seems. It takes quite a lot of motivation," he said.

Alana Tocker, 17, was also heading into the exam. The Year 12 student has already sat one exam this week, and was hoping she'd fare a little better yesterday.

"I thought maths was going to be my best, then I did maths, and, well, not so good," she laughed.

Harry's advice for his fellow students doing exams was simple.

"It's all the age-old things. Get plenty of rest the night before, drink plenty of water and have a good breakfast on the morning," he said. "Other than that, it's attitude really."

A total of 141,992 Year 11, 12 and 13 students are tackling NCEA exams at more than 400 locations around New Zealand. Nearly 9000 students will also attempt top-level NZ Scholarship exams.

More than 2000 markers will grade the papers before Christmas with results back to students by mid-January.

- © Fairfax NZ News