Funny educational system in NSW and in this country.
Poor level of education in primary years - almost nothing.
Such big kids stay at home...start studying so late, and there after very slow mental growth till year 6.
Then Years 6, 7 & 8 are also not competitive. Years 9 and & 10 also are not about competition or ranking but just your own worth in School Certificate.
And then...come preliminary and HSC...suddenly there is so much hue and cry about ranking. Even the duds wake up and start studying, hire a tutor or go for best coaching and even outdo these godo students who were always genuinely interested in serious studies ( I mean good students who study even while in Years 6, 7, 8, 9 etc not just in Year 12).
There are many serious students who are not even aware how imporant this ranking system is so they don't get hyped up all of a sudden (like the late bloomers do). But they are outdone by these tutor-trained average students.
All these reasons contribute to this tension in HSC. Many good students are hurt by this process. They know more stuff than these late crammers and they knwo it more deeply. But they are outdone by the "strategists" who are more informed, not about the subject/study matter, but about "tricks of the trade"...how to get better marks...how to get better rankings - short answer tricks - long answer tricks.
Eg; Those who don't even care a wee bit about Physics, say will learn short answer, long answer questions and top the class in Year 12. If you ask them some question, they know nothing deep. And they then go on to do some non-Physics degree, so they don't really love Physics.
Pathetic sick game of HSC and UAIs.
I'll be glad once it all is over so that I can study genuine the subjects I love, not just for the sake of UAI or rankings.
I seriously hate this rat race.