The class of 2020 has faced lockdowns and social distancing restrictions, shifted their learning to an online model and hit the books at home instead of in the classroom.

Final year events such as formals and graduation ceremonies are under review while excursions, sporting challenges and extra-curricular fun has taken a hit.

School captains Elizabeth Legge, Sam Davison and vice-captains Chayce Anderson, Maddison Symons shared their thoughts about these 'unprecedented times'.

Sam said he has struggled with the uncertainty of studying at home and the expectation of returning to school.

"Obviously we were out of school for the majority of last term so it was hard to stay on top of things school work-wise," he said.

"But also just the restrictions at school really limited our ability to be leaders and organise events for the students to enjoy. It's been quite difficult.

"It was kind of hard to make your own study patterns and we were never really sure what was going to happen in the next week.

"Personally I felt that I work better as an individual with my own plan but I was never really sure if I'd be at school the next week."

Elizabeth said she had found the benefits of self-motivation but feared for students who did not have the same outlook in year 12.

"It's changed the way we approach schooling and the way we approach studying. This is one of our most important years and it's really defined how we approach study and how we approach our year," she said.

"I found studying at home quite beneficial and I found I could get a lot of my classwork done quicker. There wasn't the distraction and transition between classes, it was more efficient at home.

"However it was disruptive to transition at home learning and then back into school learning. For me personally it was quite tiring going back into school learning from home learning.

"There are definitely year 12 students who don't have a quiet place at home to study and so they found studying at home to be extremely difficult. Sam and I had personal situations where we were fortunate enough to complete our studies independently.

"I think overall I'm expecting to see lower overall scores for the HSC exams. Even the most dedicated and vigilant students have struggled this year."

READ MORE: Hastings HSC students hunker down for final run to exams

Maddison is another student concerned about balancing part-time work and school studies this year.

"Financially there are students with additional stress trying to provide for their families with part-time jobs. These additional issues will impact scores at the end of the year," she said.

"I think it would be beneficial for schools to recognise that some senior students are less fortunate in their circumstances. They may need more support, added learning and stress management this year.

"We may not be able to help their financial situations but if they get help with their education, it's one less thing to worry about."

Chayce said there will be mixed results as a result of the shift to online learning.

"This a big change for everybody and these changes impact teachers as well. Being at a school with distance education many of our teachers were already adapted to the changes," he said.

"That is not going to be the case for all schools."

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