has anyone taken the HAST and got an offer for what they wanted? im looking specifically at hornsby girls, penrith, girraween. if you have done it and got and offer or have not could you please give me some details? (in yr 10 for yr11 entry)
please just dont tell me how bad girraween and penrith are because i am hearing it from everyone but tbh i dont have a wide range of options and ill take whatever opportunity i can get.
thankyou !!
i got into penrith through hast a few years ago. im literally begging you, dont come here, the school is horrific and refuses to help you if you have genuine problems. ik you said you dont want to hear it but im literally so sick and tired of seeing perfectly smart kids get screwed over here. even girra is better and you will often see kids from penrith try for girra at some point in time.
i feel that in some instances the school is completely out of touch with reality. one example is the uniform policy, which is relatively strict. even just one instance of being out of uniform will need a note from deputies signed by your parents. ppl who wear off brand uniforms in trouble (uniforms are too expensive to buy from the uniform shop, the second hand stall is run by students who don't even care to show up) and you aren't allowed to wear just the jumper in winter, you have to wear a blazer and tie with it. i could keep going. the assessment policy is arguably even worse. y11 onward we have buffer periods which are up to 2 whole weeks before and 1 week after the exam (this is NOT normal amongst most high schools in sydney and 2 full weeks is NOT necessary), and if you accelerate like me you are pretty much screwed bc there is barely any time within the year where you can be away without a medical certificate that has to explain how bad it is, a police report or a funeral notice.
sometimes it feels like the teachers don't know what they are doing and several of them are exceptionally rude and play favourites in class and with assessments. i applied for a misadventure and during the process i got told it wasn't worth applying for a misadventure bc i would have got low marks anyways (i was well above average in ranking). academics are EVERYTHING to the teachers here and when you get too higher grades you essentially get sorted based on your marks in terms of classes, accessibility to leadership and extracurricular opportunities etc. like i mentioned earlier when i was trying to get a misadventure the first thing the teacher mentioned was that i wasn't a "high-achieving student" even if i was doing perfectly okay in the subject and essentially said that i was seeking extra marks, while their responses to someone who might have ranked higher than me have been more empathetic.
i remember when my grandma passed away and i wasn't allowed to take time off for assessments (this was y9) bc i wasn't physically attending the funeral (bc my visa declined and i couldn't fly to see her) and i didn't have a death certificate. this was so thoroughly traumatising to me and i will NEVER forget how i was crying while studying and scrambling to finish assignments (i got a few extensions bc extensions are in the hands of head teachers who may or may not be empathetic). this was disgusting on the schools part. i cant put into words how much harder the grieving process was.
yes it is competitive and yes it ranks decently. however i genuinely hate the school and can't wait to leave and never talk to anyone that works here ever again.
and if you're thinking that these are issues that are really specific to me you will find that if you join that they really aren't and most senior have a bad experience to some extent. like i said the ones with good marks and teachers on their side often cruise through the academic and leadership side of things but for the average person will probably go through this to some extent
