Cambridge HSC exam-day guide
Cambridge HSC · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Statement of Entry / admission slip
Print the entry document your school or centre issued and keep it with your ID. Some centres now accept a digital copy and some still require paper - confirm the accepted format with your exams officer before the day.
Valid photo ID
Take the original document your centre has on record (commonly a passport or national photo ID card). Photocopies and expired documents are normally refused, so check the expiry date now. Confirm the exact accepted ID types with your centre - this varies by country.
Two or more black ballpoint pens
Write in black ink unless the paper's front page states otherwise. Bring more than you need; a pen that fails mid-essay costs marks in lost time, not lost knowledge.
HB pencils, sharpener, eraser
Required for multiple-choice answer sheets, diagrams, graphs and rough work. A soft eraser that does not smear is worth the extra cost.
Ruler, protractor, compass, set squares
Relevant for mathematics, physics and any paper with scale drawing. Check the front of a past paper for your subject to see what is normally permitted.
Calculator, if your subject permits one
Bring the model you have practised with, with fresh batteries fitted and spares if possible. Programmable or graphing models are restricted on some papers and the list of approved models differs by syllabus - confirm against your syllabus and with your teacher before the exam.
Clear pencil case or transparent pouch
Many centres require stationery to be visible. If your centre has no rule, a clear pouch still speeds up desk checks and reduces the chance of an item being removed.
Clear bottle of water
Remove or cover the label. No food, no cans, no bottles with branding visible. If you have a medical need for food or drink, arrange approval in advance with the centre.
Nothing on your wrists or in your pockets
Leave smart watches, fitness bands and phones at home or hand them in as instructed. A phone that vibrates in a bag in the room can still be treated as malpractice - switch it off fully and surrender it.
A plan for arriving early
Know the building, the entrance, the room and the route, and travel as if the journey will take half as long again. Aim to be at the centre well before the start time; the exact recommended arrival window is set by the centre, so confirm it.
Your timetable for the session
Check the date, session (AM/PM), paper code and duration for every paper you sit. Timetables can change; verify against the current version issued by your school rather than a screenshot from months ago.
A plain analogue watch
Useful if you cannot see a clock from your seat, and permitted where smart devices are not. Confirm with your centre that a wristwatch is allowed in your room.
Plan the day
Reconfirm logistics: the exact venue, arrival time, seat number if issued, and the paper codes you are sitting. Read the front page instructions of a recent past paper for each subject so that permitted materials, answer format and rubric are fresh. Switch to timed practice under exam conditions rather than re-reading notes. Sleep on a normal schedule - two short nights before an exam cost more marks than two extra hours of revision gain.
Decide what you will not revise. Write a one-page sheet per subject with formulas, definitions, case studies or quotations you keep forgetting, and read only that in the last day. Pack your stationery bag now so the morning is not a search.
Confirm the centre is expecting you and that nothing has changed. Lay out ID, entry document, stationery, calculator and clothes by the door. Prepare food and transport money. Do one light review pass over your one-page sheets, then stop. Do not attempt a new topic or a full past paper the night before - it inflates anxiety without adding usable marks.
Check the weather and transport disruptions for the route, and set two alarms. If you have two papers on the same day, plan the gap between them: what you will eat, where you will sit, and which one page you will glance at - not a full re-read of the first paper.
Eat something with slow-release energy and drink water. Leave earlier than you think necessary and arrive with time to find the room, use the toilet, and settle. Hand in your phone as instructed on entry, keep your ID on the desk, and do not join last-minute group discussions outside the room - they reliably raise doubt about topics you already know.
Read the front page and check the paper code, the number of pages and the instructions. Fill in your candidate details exactly as they appear on your entry document. Read the whole paper or the whole question list before writing, and mark the questions you plan to answer. Note the finish time from the invigilator; do not rely on your own watch alone.
Allocate time per question or per mark before you start and keep to it. Attempt every required question - a partial answer usually earns more than a blank space. If you overrun, stop and move on, then return. Leave five to ten minutes to check that every page is completed, that you have not left a question on a page you turned past, and that your candidate number is on any loose answer booklet.
Stop writing the moment you are told. Stay seated, hand everything in - including rough work if the centre requires it - and do not discuss answers in the corridor if you have another paper that day. If you believe something went wrong in the room, tell your exams officer promptly rather than after results.
Rules to check
Bring the ID your centre has approved and keep it visible on the desk for the whole session. If you arrive without it, expect to be referred to the exams officer - the outcome is decided locally, so confirm the fallback option with your centre in advance rather than on the day.
Follow the invigilator over any other instruction. Raise your hand and wait if you need to speak, need more paper, feel unwell or need the toilet; do not simply stand up or leave the room. Whether escorted toilet breaks are allowed, and whether the time is added back, is a centre decision - confirm it beforehand.
No unauthorised material in the room: notes, annotations on your body or clothing, phone, smart watch, earbuds, or any device with a case that could hold paper. Possession alone, even unused and switched off, is commonly treated as malpractice, so surrender such items before you sit down.
Communicate with nobody except invigilators once the paper has been distributed. Do not look at another candidate's work, do not let your paper be visible, and do not speak until you have left the room. Report any approach from another candidate to an invigilator immediately.
Late arrival and absence rules are set by the centre and the awarding body and differ by situation. If you are delayed, go to the centre anyway and ask for the exams officer; do not assume you have lost the paper. Confirm the late-arrival policy with your school before exam season.
Use of calculators and equipment is governed by the subject syllabus, not by what your neighbour has. If an invigilator removes an item, accept it and continue; argue it afterwards with your exams officer. Confirm your calculator model against the syllabus rules before the day.
Write only in the spaces and on the materials provided, and do not remove any paper or stationery from the room. Any suspected irregularity is reported, and the awarding body - not the centre - decides the outcome, which can range from no action to disqualification from the subject.
Scoring and grading depend on the specific qualification and syllabus: grade boundaries are set after each session and are not fixed in advance. Do not assume a pass mark, a negative-marking rule or a particular grade scale - confirm the grading structure for your exact qualification with your school.