Year 12 students undertaking their Higher School Certificate (HSC) trial exams will face disruptions after the New South Wales government announced a two-week extension to home learning on Wednesday. The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) said that schools could decide whether to postpone trial exams from July 26 to Aug. 9 or provide suitable alternative assessment tasks. Schools will need to advise students of their chosen arrangements for the trial exams. “I want to say categorically that students will have the opportunity to receive the HSC this year,” NESA CEO Paul Martin said. “Students should continue to focus on their studies and prioritise looking after their wellbeing.” The exams are run independently by schools based on guidelines and form a substantial part of a student’s final HSC mark. Martin said the NESA’s main concerns were for the HSC oral language exams scheduled for July 31 and dance exams that were …