A testing time for HSC exam

By EMMA O'NEILL

JUST two desks will be set up in the large hall at Bonalbo Central School for the start of today's Higher School Certificate exams.

One will be for Georgina Slade, of Bonalbo, and the other for Lowana Moore, of Tabulam.

They are the only Year 12 students at the school and principal Keith Larsson said the uncharacteristically small grade had been treated just like any other.

"We've tried to keep it as normal for the girls as possible, and carry on as if there are 50 of them," he said.

The two girls still had school captain elections, a farewell assembly and will have a school formal.

Georgina said making a speech for the school captain election was a bit strange considering there were only two of them in the grade, and sitting exams in a big hall with just two desks also had its weird conceptions. The pair also opted to put their names on last year's jersey instead of having a jersey with just two names on it this year.

Lowana said the pair had defiantly faced a few challenges during the year due to the size of the grade.

"It was difficult sometimes in class because we would only have two opinions on different issues and having a restricted choice of subjects for the HSC was also challenging,'' she said.

However, Georgina said there were positives in having such a small grade, particularly with so much one-on-one time with teachers.

Graduating classes at Bonalbo havn't always been small. Almost 30 students started at the high school six years ago, but each year a handful left the school. Georgina said it would have been easier to drop out before

Year 12, but she and Lowana were glad they 'stuck to it'. She said they became good friends and were looking forward to finishing exams together. And bother are predicting 'quiet times'during the HSC exam, with just two desks in the large hall.