Dozens of schools pull out of HSC trials despite return-to-school plan

Dozens of Sydney schools have cancelled in-person HSC trials even though year 12 will be allowed to return to classrooms in two weeks amid anxiety from students, parents and teachers about the safety of attending campus while COVID-19 case numbers remain stubbornly high.

The Catholic sector has also called on the government to “urgently” provide more information on its plan for large-scale COVID-19 screening for schools, and asked it to release the medical advice upon which it based its decision to allow face-to-face HSC classes to resume.

More than 70 schools have pulled out of the Catholic Schools Secondary Association HSC trials, which are due to begin on August 18; most of those will do online assessments instead. Other schools will hold in-person trial exams but will continue with remote learning afterwards.

Dozens of schools pull out of HSC trials amid health concerns from students, parents and teachers

As Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagged that amendments to her controversial plan to let HSC students return will be released within days, including “strict conditions” for hotspot local government areas, the Catholic sector wrote to Education Minister Sarah Mitchell outlining the challenges faced by its schools.

While it broadly agreed with year 12 returning, the sector was concerned about “whether teachers are willing to return to school in sufficient numbers to support returning students,” wrote Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney.

“[It was concerned about] whether families and carers are willing to have their children move through the community to attend school and return to the family home; lastly, whether effective COVID-safe protocols can be developed for a school environment.”

Mr McInerney also asked the minister whether schools were allowed to be flexible, and persist with online assessments if they regarded it as a safer option than in-person examinations and classes. He also pointed to the high case numbers among young people.

“At a minimum, the public release of [Chief Medical Officer Kerry] Dr Chant’s primary advice that supports a safe return of the HSC cohort on 16 August is required,” he wrote. “This will allow families and school leaders to make the best judgements in respect of the safety and wellbeing of staff and students.”

Mr McInerney also sought urgent advice on the government’s proposal to deliver rapid antigen testing to students and its assurance that the delivery of Pfizer vaccinations from August 9 would offer students enough protection when they return to school a week later.

Principals from different sectors whose students come from across Sydney said there was deep anxiety among families about the return of year 12. Some students were looking forward to it, but others were anxious they would expose their families to the disease.

One said a third of parents were saying they would not allow their students to return to school; another said parents had been calling NSW Health every day to organise an appointment for their child’s Pfizer jab, and being told to call back because bookings are not open.

Craig Petersen, the head of the Secondary Principals Council, said schools inside hotspot local government areas were having trouble finding enough teachers allowed to work on the site, as many live outside the LGAs. However, year 12 teachers were not easily substituted because their specialty knowledge was so important.

Some schools have decided to continue remote learning for year 12, or hold trials that can be supervised by vaccinated staff or externally-hired supervisors only. “They’re trying to work out what they can and can’t do,” Mr Petersen said.

“They’re trying to work out [which teachers] they have available, and they’re also trying to work out which students will be on site, but it’s hard to do that when they’re waiting for more information.”

The schools in the hotspot local government areas also have the city’s most disadvantaged students, so if the rules were different for them, it may increase their disadvantage. The Premier said the return date gave HSC students clarity, but “I don’t think it simplifies anything at all,” said Mr Petersen.

“If all year 12 students and teachers were going back, if we had all year 12s coming back and all the teachers coming back, able to travel to their own school, that would be relatively straightforward. I think this is going to increase the complexity, increase the anxiety and increase the inequity.”

Last week, Ms Berejiklian said rapid antigen testing would be used in schools to mitigate the risk of having year 12 back. However, many say it would be impractical; it takes one nurse about an hour to conduct 10 tests, and there are up to 400 year 12 students at any one school.

One alternative being discussed within the sector is pool testing, which is used at quarantine sites. It involves a group of people doing quick saliva swabs and having them all tested together. If any return positive results, all of the people who submitted swabs are quarantined and tested again with nasal swabs.

Professor Ben Fahimnia from Sydney University’s Institute of Logistics Studies said the group testing was an efficient way of screening people in cities with low case numbers. At school, students could be grouped by class or home room.

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Jordan Baker is Education Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald

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