Wow...
I'm totally shocked that so many people have reacted so badly to the OP's comments about special provisions...
I was granted special provisions at my school, I use a computer for most of my exams except for Maths, where I get 5 min rest breaks.
Any time I tell people I have special provisions I get blasted about how "unfair" it is etc. etc. until I tell them I have a genetic problem where all of my joints are hypermobile, and I damaged my right wrist in a sports injury a few years ago which completely aggravated the problem, which means I can't write with a pen for more than about 20 minutes before things get incredibly painful.
I've had special provisions since yr 10.
People don't understand just how damaging some problems can be. It's not just the fact that I can't write during my exams, I can't write during school, I can't take notes, I can't do study properly unless I have a computer. It's incredibly disruptive and puts me at a complete disadvantage. Being granted special provisions has been a life saver for me. It puts me at a "level playing field" to the rest of the people in my year, and people just don't understand this.
It's actually really, really sad to see how the competition of the HSC is affecting everyone to the point where people with legitimate physical and learning disabilities are seen as "cheats" and at an advantage to everyone else.
I sympathise with the OP. No one knows the full extent of his problem unless they've actually seen his work, so don't be so quick to judge. One of the other people in my year with special provisions (there's about 7 or 8 of us) has the most shocking handwriting I have ever seen. He writes like a 4 yr old, 2-3 lines per letter. It's not that he's too lazy to learn how to write properly - he has a learning disability.
Everyone needs to calm down, it's just the competition associated with the HSC that's making people feel jealous & angry. I realise that there are people who do try and abuse the system, but generally the majority of people who apply for special provisions have legitimate reasons, and the people who have been granted special provisions have been selected because they have provided huge amounts of paperwork and medical certificates etc that back up their claims.
People need to learn to be more open-minded and accepting.