Is Year 12 really that big of a deal?
I don’t remember what I used to set the pages and pages of paper alight, however I’d decided that burning a year’s worth of extensive Year 12 Advanced English notes was the best and only logical course of action after my final English exams.
John Donne’s poetry, covered in detailed annotations? Ashes.
Endless scribbles about the themes discussed in ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Blade Runner’? Up in smoke.
It was 2003, the year in which I basically crawled to the finish line, leaving a trail of undiagnosed neurodivergent destruction in my wake; I was burnt out, exhausted, and suffered a two week bout of glandular fever which happened to crash brutally on me on the day I had to submit not one, but two major works for Design and Tech, and Visual Arts. This chaotic time impacted everyone around me. I know my mum, brother and high school boyfriend were scarred by it too.
Year 12 hit me like a tonne of bricks, and towards the end of the year, they were being hurled at me harder and faster. Although my journey as a secondary student ended more than two decades ago, the refrain is the same; ‘work hard in Year 12, it’ll set you up for the rest of your life’. I’m here to tell you, as an experienced secondary educator, that Year 12 is not the huge deal so many make it out to be, and the ATAR? Just a number.
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While achieving well in Year 12 can certainly set you up for success, if it all falls apart or school just isn’t for you, there are a plethora of pathways to achieving the goals you’ve set for your future. When my Year 12 score came through, I cried for days. I’d received a 64, which didn’t meet the requirements for my chosen course of study. So much pressure sat on this score that I felt like my life was over. I actually couldn’t have been more wrong.
It actually turned out that I entered university at the same time as my friends, just on a slightly different pathway than first planned. Initially planning to study Japanese, I wound up studying some Humanities and other language rich subjects which fueled my interests and led me to major in English Literature; yes, this destroyer of Year 12 English notes found out that she had a connection with English, especially in its ability to express a range of perspectives. It turned out that the creation and analysis of texts was for me, but the so called ‘classics’ forced upon us in the high school classroom were impossible for me to connect with and relate to. At university, I thrived. In addition, I graduated at the same time as friends who received much higher marks in Year 12, with a distinction average.
Although my horrific Year 12 experience was more than 20 years ago, it definitely still rings true today. If something is so overwhelming it affects your health and life so negatively, why would it make sense to continue engaging with it? If you’re anxious about exams, ask yourself why? Where is this pressure coming from? Is it benefiting anyone?
Of course, we all have to find our ways through tough times, and develop resilience and strategies to cope with life’s challenges. For some, Year 12 might be pretty straightforward; perhaps they’re well supported, have a team of effective and engaging educators working with them, and are not disadvantaged by any number of factors like language barriers, neurodivergence, family and community responsibilities and socioeconomic issues.
Others, like a current Year 12 student I mentor, decide to get her crises out of the way early. She, being the highly anxious human she was, literally passed out from stress during her first Year 12 English assessment in Term 1. It turned out to be the wake-up call she needed, knowing that a continual state of anxiety certainly wasn’t going to help her at all in her quest to achieve her Year 12 goals. This refreshing perspective has led her through her journey to school completion. She recently pondered whether she should be more stressed, while her classmates collectively struggle through the excessive strain of cramming and pushing for the best possible results. She was incredibly pleased with her final English exam, and while I know she probably won’t be setting her English notes alight, she’ll enjoy never having to think about ‘Jane Eyre’ again.
All those years ago, what I initially believed to be a drastic failure turned out to be a redirection. It led me to study what I’d never even considered during my teenage years. It led me to create lessons using texts that students actually enjoy and connect with. It led me to understand the struggles I’d gone through and eventually my own brain, which was learned through connection with my students and trying to understand and support them.
It should also be noted that university degrees aren’t necessarily the key to success anymore, and are incredibly expensive. Committing to years of higher education is a big deal, and shouldn’t be done without significant consideration, remembering that if you’re not connecting well to your course of study, you might find yourself encountering further distress, navigating essays, exams and complex systems with even less support than you may have received at high school. It’s okay to take a step back, chase less academic pursuits and mull over the direction you want to travel in. You’re young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Take your time.
No matter what number appears next to your name when results are released, know that while this moment will definitely impact the direction you take, and it probably feels huge, it’s not as big a deal as you might think. Your result may hit you like a tonne of bricks, and you should definitely take time to celebrate or commiserate, but treat it like a compass, guiding you towards your next journeys, and learn to accept that you may not know what’s next, but what’s next could be magnificent.
