Pens at the ready, hundreds of students from across the region went into the English Paper 1 this morning.

Guyra Central School principal Michelle Nicholson said 16 students from Guyra Central School dived into the exam.

“I would think that they are feeling quite confident,” she told The Argus on Monday.

Over in Armidale, Armidale High School student Heather White said she felt she had done well.

“Some more study would have been good, but I’m happy,” she said.

The theme this year is “Discovery” and students wrote about a prescribed text and completed a creative writing piece.

“I feel a lot better, it’s honestly a big relief,” Heather said, who hopes to do nursing when she finishes high school.

MET School students Pierre Scott and Williams Trewarn also did their exam at Armidale High School.

Year 12 student Pierre said the short answer section was hard, but the rest was reasonable.

“I’ve probably put about ten hours [study] in,” he said.

“I’m pumped [to be finished], it’s awesome.”

The Higher School Certificate exams run until Tuesday November 7.