Yah... I hate how some people take a sick leave off during exams. Some people might get 'relatively' high in prepared assignments, but srsly flunk in exam conditions. In the HSC, if you're sick, you don't retake the exam, so make sure you ain't. I think my head-teacher said something like applying for sickness compensation blah blah(not sure what how the procedure works), but the school will assess your attendance throughout the year and look closely at your attendance in exam periods to decide if its valid.