Mount Aspiring College (MAC) students are staying positive despite the uncertainty Covid-19 creates for their studies, including the recent announcement that exam dates would be pushed back by two weeks.

The Ministry of Education said the decision to change the exam schedule was made to give students more time to prepare. However, a national petition to reverse the change has received significant support, with more than 20,000 people signing it.

MAC head student Olive Blyth said having the extra two weeks was “quite comforting”.

“I am personally choosing to see the extension as an opportunity to take more time to study and prepare,” Olive said.

Head student Meg Thomas said she thinks the ministry made the right choice.

“While I could easily sit here and complain about the fact that I am now getting two weeks less of holidays, I have to think about the majority of New Zealand,” she said.

Students, including Olive Blyth and Meg Thomas, are looking forward to getting back to the MAC campus.

“Not everyone has access to computers, has stable mental health or even a quiet space to work. Lockdown is hard and I think that allowing two extra weeks for students is best for everyone to be able to have the best chance of success for our external [exams].”

Olive said the response among other students had been mixed, and Meg said she believed the majority of students were “frustrated” at the decision.

The two-week delay would mean two weeks less paid work for many, which is “a big deal” for students saving to attend university next year, Meg said.

But that’s a necessary sacrifice, she said: “If we are going to help the people who need support, everyone is going to need to change their exam times and that is what happened.”

Both Olive and Meg say online school has its challenges and they hope to return to the MAC campus soon.

MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen said the decision to move exams back would “hopefully mean our students will have more time in class with their teachers before the school exams and the NCEA exams.

“I support the change,” she said.

While she had been impressed with the level of engagement from students studying online, Nicola too was excited for in-person school to resume, when the alert level allows.

“I do miss seeing the staff and the students, and am looking forward to when we can be back at school.”

PHOTOS: MAC