Stawell Secondary College year 12 student Bourke Nicholls reveals his experience of remote learning | The Graduation Project 2020

The coronavirus pandemic and a return to remote learning however has led to the role "disintegrating", and the year's focus has changed into simply managing his last year of school from home.

Mr Nicholls found remote learning "awkward" first time around, trying to sieve his way through the information and find a new routine.

"I didn't really expect it the first time around and had no idea what to plan for," he said.

THE GRADUATION PROJECT:

"It did come as a bit of a shock and took some time to get organised.

"This time around I think I could see it was going to happen and it was less of a shock."

Mr Nicholls said he had developed a better understanding of time management and the importance of doing research.

"I've made an effort to do extra like external research into topics," he said.

READ MORE:

"Not having one of one time with teachers can be hard.

"It's easier to communicate one on one and in person. Having a conversation is different from sending in a question.

"During a conversation, you can bounce around more ideas, examples and more questions come from it. It just doesn't leave answers black and white. I feel you can get a more in-depth explanation."

Mr Nicholls said across the board he felt his schooling had improved during year 12.

"It was something I really strived to do at the start of the year," he said.

OTHER NEWS:

"I don't really have any ambitions of what I want to do next year but I want to find work locally.

"My goal is to join the police force when I am older but for now I am happy just to work."

Mr Nicholls said life comes with challenges and he wasn't too disappointed with how the year had played out.

"This is just another challenge people have to overcome," he said.

"It's about learning to be self-disciplined and at times like this, it reflects a lot on the individuals.

"I've found myself to be more independent and responsible for my actions when it comes to school."

Mr Nicholls said he was nervous heading into exams.

"I don't know what the exams will look like because we've had such an interrupted year," he said.

"I know the teachers have done their best to prepare us but I guess students are always going to stress if they have done enough."

Do you have a story to share? Get in touch - cassandra.langley@austcommunitymedia.com.au

MORE NEWS:

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Stawell Times-News. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Northern Grampians shire, sign up here.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Stawell Times-News, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Stawell's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great town.