Whether you are on the brink of starting your HSC year, going through the tumultuous year now, or have thankfully already graduated from Year 12, ABC’s new hit show, My Year 12 Life is a must-see for everyone. This show takes on the year-long vlog of fourteen Year 12 students who completed their HSC last year, with all the ups and downs, tears and relief one can imagine (or remember). The first episode, introduced us to the fourteen very different students and their thoughts as they prepared for the much anticipated and dreaded school year.
youtube.com
Already the students have raised very important questions and insights into the gruelling task of achieving an ATAR. They also outlined why they did or didn’t want a high ATAR or a score at all, and what pressures they faced.
Family pressures
The first setback that most of the students outlined was the immense pressure that felt from their parents. The students felt that if they didn’t receive the ATAR that their parents wanted them to get then they would leave them feeling disappointed that they didn’t put in their best efforts. So strong was this intense feeling of pressure that  Angela from Western Sydney said that if she didn’t get an high ATAR her mother would ‘literally’ kill her.
In contrast, Tom F from Western Australia, exemplified though he did feel pressure to complete Year 12, as he lives with two of his close friends, separate from his mother, he had no one forcing him to attend school and get his grades up. This year, it was up to him, as he said “If I don’t want to go to school, I won’t, there’s no one to force me.”
Other commitments
Unfortunately the HSC occurs at quite a busy time in a teenager’s life and the year is often riddled with a constant myriad of distractions and other commitments. A handful of students in the programme, like Alfie from South-West Sydney, have emphasised that they were more focused on their eighteenth and going out, rather than focusing on their work. He said he cared more about his friends and family then school-life.
Tom P from Melbourne, also stated that he loved playing sport and wanted to possibly pursue it professionally but faced the uncertainty of rejection. He states in this first episode that if he had to choose sport or school he would have to choose sport, though he said he faced extreme pressure from his family to do exceptionally well as his brother received an ATAR of 98 and is now studying law.
And Jess, who was used to working a 38 hours week at Woolworths before she started Year 12, said she found it a struggle to accept the prospect of doing a full year of study as she had ambitions to join the army and quote, “Had gotten used to working with adults” and didn’t like the idea of collaborating with people her own age.
School pressures
All the students seemed to question they ATAR system. The concept of competing and ranking against everybody across Australia seemed a daunting and confusing prospect. A few of them also commented on the pressure the schools gave you to help your fellow classmates to receive higher ATARs as each school competed against the other and the average score of the school effected an individual’s rank. Charlie from South Australia questioned why, for example for top students who work hard should be dragged down because of fourteen other students who don’t aspire to study hard.
abc.net.au
As you can see, the first episode of this intriguing show raises many questions about the HSC system and demonstrates the immense pressures faced by young adults in their final year of school. If you want to carry on the conversation why not head over to our forum and discuss with out friendly community.Make sure to use the hashtag #myyear12life.
