"I can't believe it's done," St Mary's Catholic College Studies of Religion student Ava Knight yelled with delight leaving the exam hall.
The year group breathed a collective sigh of relief stepping out of a "really good" assessment.
Lily Quinn was pleased about the layout of this year's exam. Three short answer questions, each worth five marks, were what she predicted.
Students said the main essay question was similar to what they anticipated, too.
"The questions didn't differ too much from what was asked in our trial exam," Matilda Brown said. The cohort was asked how the religion they studied encouraged followers to live a better life.
"I thought it went pretty well, which is great," Ms Brown said.
For Ms Knight and Ms Quinn, Thursday marked their last HSC exam. Their classmate and close friend Ms Brown will complete her final Chemistry exam on Friday morning.
"[I feel] incredible - amazing," Ms Knight said.
"It's also bittersweet knowing that you're not going to see those people anymore," she said. "Even if you're not close friends with them, it's still weird not to see people everyday."
"We've been such a tight-knit group for six years," Ms Brown said.
The trio will live more than six hours apart next year. Ms Knight will study at the University of Newcastle, to which she has gained early entry. Ms Brown is heading to Wagga Wagga to pursue a career as a vet and Ms Quinn will study international relations at the Australian National University.
"I know I'm moving away from my friend's and family. I'm really not looking forward to that. I love these guys," Ms Quinn said. "But I think it's going to be a great opportunity."
Year 12 year advisor Sharon Smith said she would miss a "beautiful year" who were "like a second family" since they began at St Mary's in 2018.
A question hangs over Ms Brown: "What do we do now? We have nothing to do for four months until uni starts."
"Well, I'm going home for a fat nap," Ms Knight said. "A little nap as a little celebration for finishing."
