From the Head of Learning and Teaching – The Joy of Difficulty

As we send our very best wishes to the girls sitting their HSC and IB examinations, with the HSC now underway and IB beginning next week, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what this moment represents. Years of learning, persistence, and care have led to these final few weeks, when students step into the exam hall and meet the culmination of their effort.

It’s easy to see this period only through the lens of pressure and performance. Examinations can feel like tests of endurance as much as knowledge. Yet as we watch our Year 12 students take these final steps, it’s worth remembering something deeper: difficulty is not the enemy of learning, it’s the evidence of it.

There’s a quiet joy in doing something hard. The joy of realising you can hold a complex idea in your mind. The joy of finding words for something that once seemed just out of reach. The joy of noticing how much more flexible, capable, and confident your thinking has become.

Psychologists call this productive struggle – the sweet spot where challenge and capacity meet. It’s where learning sticks, where we stretch beyond what we already know. Every teacher recognises that real understanding often begins with the words, ‘This is hard,’ followed by, ‘but I’m going to try.’

For parents, especially of younger students, this idea matters too. Struggle is not a sign that something has gone wrong, it’s often the moment when the brain is doing its best work. When a child hesitates, makes a mistake, or feels frustrated, that’s learning in motion. Our instinct is often to make things easier, but allowing children to stay with the challenge helps them build persistence, problem-solving skills, and confidence: I can do hard things.

For our Senior students, examinations are not just hurdles to clear but acts of synthesis – opportunities to draw together years of thinking and see how far they’ve come. And for all of us, students, teachers, and parents alike, exam season is a reminder that growth often hides inside effort.

As our girls complete their final examinations, may they know that their hard work has already shaped something far greater than a result: the capacity to think deeply, persevere courageously, and find joy in the midst of difficulty.

– Melissa McMahon
Head of Learning and Teaching