Schools that had their power knocked out by the weekend’s storms have turned to generators to prepare exam rooms for year 12 students as the cohort takes on the state’s largest exam.
The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority said about 27,000 students were expected to sit the English exam across the state on Tuesday, and for many the subject would be crucial to completing their high school education.
Strong winds and golf-ball-sized hail took out power to huge sections of Brisbane on Sunday, leaving many homes and businesses without power as the inner-city braved a record-breaking 38.7 degrees on Monday.
Centenary State High School year 12 students took their external music and accounting exams at Corinda.Credit: Facebook / Centenary State High School
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said 10 state schools began the week without power, including two of Brisbane’s largest high schools – Centenary State High and Indooroopilly State High.
Langbroek said Corinda State High hosted both schools on Monday for exams including music, design, accounting, and aerospace systems.
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In an update posted online, Centenary State High School praised its students’ resilience, and thanked staff at Corinda for hosting the several dozen students sitting accounting and music exams on Monday afternoon.
Students at three Catholic schools left without power in Brisbane’s west on Monday – Stuartholme School, Ambrose Treacy College, and Brigidine College – were unable to sit their exams.
QCAA instead would calculate a mark for the assessment items, which account for 25 per cent of the students’ final grade, based on their individual performance in internal testing and the cohort’s overall performance in Monday’s external exams.
