COVID-19 disruptions 'disappointing' for Richmond High School captains

The Gazette spoke with Richmond High School captains, Hannah Cooper and Timothy Arthur, about how they're coping with the 'new normal'.

Besides the disruption to their HSC program - with trials being pushed back and classes occurring online for a number of weeks - Hannah (17) and Tim (18) said the social aspect of their Year 12 year since the coronavirus had been "disappointing".

"Everyone was meant to have their 18th birthday celebrations this year. Year 12 was meant to be separated by parties and social interaction - that's what keeps everyone sane. It's been quite difficult [without socialising in person]," said Hannah, who lives at Richmond and Cranebrook.

"When you don't have your friends around you, it's just full on work and school time all the time, so you don't have that break."

Tim, from Berkshire Park, agreed: "When I see my friends I [used to] high-five and handshake, and it's hard not being able to do that," he said, adding that after spending almost four weeks doing schoolwork from home during lockdown, it felt unnatural not to shake his mates' hands when they went back to class.

"You couldn't express your feelings by giving your friends a hug," added Hannah.

For both students, the month without face-to-face contact with teachers took its toll.

"Some people have liked it, but I'm not a big fan of it. In Year 12 especially, you need that advice and immediate feedback from teachers," Tim said.

Hannah said she didn't feel as though her learning was as effective during that time at home: "It was really difficult because we were getting through the syllabus, but we weren't retaining any of the information, because we weren't getting the same face-to-face teaching we usually get. I struggled."

For Hannah, who studies music as one of her subjects, there will only be four weeks between her trial HSC test and her actual HSC test for the subject.

"It will be a quick jump from test to test. Then there's also the shift from online learning, back to book work, which took a while, so things are all over the place. And also some teachers couldn't come to school because of safety reasons," she said.

Tim said COVID-19, the news around the world, and making sense of it locally, was "a big distraction" to his and his classmates' studies.

"I found especially when we were at home doing work from home, it was very difficult because there's this big pandemic going on and you want to know what's going on so it's hard to focus on your work," he said.

For Hannah, not being able to do simple things like go to the local library to study was something previous Year 12 classes might have taken for granted.

"Tim does a bunch of sport and I do music so we've both had to miss out on things like the school concert and our annual Red Nose Day game and concert, which we were both looking forward to," Hannah said.

Tim said after hearing from his older siblings about how "fun" Year 12 was going to be, with its freedoms and perks amid the study, he felt "disappointed" about the way this year had panned out.

The captains are looking forward to being able to graduate and go to their Year 12 formal as per normal later in the year, health crisis permitting.

Next year, Tim wants to go on to university and go into sports physiotherapy.

Hannah wants to study at university to become a primary school teacher.