Higher School Certificate by the numbers
The written NSW HSC exams are starting on Tuesday and will end on November 11, with the class of 2020 results released on December 18.
THE CLASS OF 2020
* 76,310 students are studying one or more HSC courses
* 68,673 students are on track to complete their HSC program
* 36,900 are male
* 39,410 are females
HSC STUDENTS BY REGION
* Sydney - 49,825
* Regional NSW - 26,135
* Outside NSW - 350
HSC COURSES
* 105 examinable courses
* 13 Industry Curriculum Frameworks (with examinations)
* 32 Life Skills courses for students with disabilities
TOP 10 SUBJECTS
* 1: English 69,372
* 2: Mathematics 58,316
* 3: Biology 19,036
* 4: Business Studies 18,325
* 5: Personal Development, Health & Physical Education 17,557
* 6: Studies of Religion 14,534
* 7: Modern History 11,151
* 8: Legal Studies 10,943
* 9: Chemistry 10,298
* 10: Community and Family Studies 9172
TOP FIVE LANGUAGES
* 1: Japanese 1362
* 2: French 1116
* 3: Chinese 879
* 4: Italian 526
* 5: Spanish 498
THE EXAMS
* 120 written exams totalling about 350 hours
* 96 exam committees and about 300 committee members develop the written exam papers
* About 350 students will sit HSC exams overseas
* Each exam is reviewed at least six times before more than 700,000 exam papers are printed
* 750 exam centres staffed by more than 7500 supervisors and presiding officers
SOURCE: NSW EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
