Today nearly 2000 students on the Mid North Coast have put pens down on this year's first HSC exam - a scholastic tradition which is now 52-years-old.

Starting with English this morning, 123 written exams will be held during the exam period, in over 750 exam centres staffed by over 7,500 supervisors and presiding officers.

Each English exam is to be scored by at least nine markers.

Mark Nash was the first out the door looking both relieved and bewildered at the same time.

"I didn't really prepare I sort of just went in there and winged it," he said.

Essay questions are now designed to stop students from memorising large slabs of text, so Mark's approach seems to be fairly common these days.

And he was reasonably satisfied with how his first exam had panned out.

Ben Jeffery said the test was a piece of cake, his only hiccup being punctuality.

"I was almost late," he said.

Cassandra Ferris had a pretty cruisy lead-up to the start of HSC exams with great marks in her trial tests.

But panic set in first thing this morning.

Still, she floated from the hall relieved that she had been able to answer the essay questions with relative ease.

We asked all three students upon completion of their first exam, whether they agreed with recent public sentiment that the HSC exams are past their use-by date.

"Nup, definitely not. Get rid of the HSC!" Mark Nash said.

Mark said he was using his exam results as a sort of 'plan B', after already obtaining a recommendation and scholarship to attend UNE next year.

"The HSC is just another doorway for me. I'm not 100 per cent sure what I want to do, but at this stage I probably want to head out west for ag work," he said.

Ben, too, believes the exams are a waste of time.

He said it would be preferable if universities in Australia conducted their own entrance exams for specific degrees, rather than being forced to sit for tests in a broad range of subjects that might not necessarily be relevant to a student's chosen career pathway.

"Most of the stuff here I won't use. I didn't get to do a computer course this year which is where I'm heading in future," he said.

Cassandra, on the other hand, is determined to do well in her HSC exams in order to get into either a Bachelor of Journalism or Psychology at the University of Queensland next year.

"I'm moving to Brisbane in January - I've already got my apartment, so I'm hoping to get a good enough ATAR," she said.

"For me it's a valuable process, but I don't think the stress is worth it for others.

"I feel that it's really demanding to get everyone to sit for written exams when this isn't everyone's forte.

"I know a lot of people have struggled with stress leading up to the start of the HSC - even having breakdowns and panic attacks.

"I'm part of a discussion page on Facebook and people are always commenting about how stressed they are. It made me question whether I should be panicking."

A report published this year found only one out of four university entrants in 2018 were admitted as a direct result of their Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR).

"There are so many more opportunities these days. You can even take a one-year bridging course to get into the university of your choice," Cassandra said.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has called for an overhaul of the ATAR as research shows the population is losing faith in the national tertiary entrance rank amid fears it is putting too much stress on students.

But today she urged the state's Year 12s to practise self care throughout the next three weeks.

"I remind students that taking care of themselves is crucial during the exam period. This includes eating healthy foods, getting enough sleep and doing some exercise every day," she said.

"Keep up the hard work; we are behind you and completely believe in your ability to do your very best.

"Don't be afraid to reach out to family, friends or your teachers if you feel at all overwhelmed at any time."

Exams finish on Monday, November 11, with Design and Technology and Textiles and Design.

One week before Christmas, on Tuesday, December 17, students will wake up to their results which will be delivered via email and sms from 6am.

First home buyers to get a much-needed helping hand

Ancestral Gumbaynggirr bones to be returned to country tomorrow