A Sydney man's casual curiosity about how much the Higher School Certificate has changed since the 1980s has sparked a wave of nostalgia, with readers recalling some surprisingly unusual items that were once permitted inside exam rooms, including a Sony Walkman loaded with recordings of bird calls.
Banned Phones, Permitted Protractors and a Walkman Down Memory Lane
David Leary of Newtown, who sat his HSC in 1983, recently took a look at this year's exam timetable to see what had changed. He found smartwatches and mobile phones firmly on the banned list, which was no surprise. What caught his attention, however, was what students are still allowed to bring in: a pair of compasses, a protractor, a set square and, remarkably, a piece of string for subjects such as geography.
That realisation sent Leary's mind back to his own student days. "I remember the weirdest one was in a midterm exam at UNSW when a student was allowed to bring in a Sony Walkman to listen to a tape of bird noises to help her concentrate," he said, inviting others born last century to share similarly memorable exam-room oddities.
The contrast is striking. Technology that was cutting-edge in the early 1980s, a portable cassette player, was apparently acceptable in at least some university settings of the era, while today's students cannot wear a smartwatch on their wrist. Meanwhile, geometry tools and a length of string remain perfectly legitimate exam accessories in 2026.
Rugby, Language and Old School Connections
Elsewhere in reader correspondence, Geoff Goodfellow of Moss Vale offered a rather sporting approach to keeping the mind sharp as he ages. "To keep my brain active as I approach a nice old age, I've been teaching myself to fluently say Mark Nawaqanitawase," he admitted, adding that after three weeks of practice he is doing "a beautiful Mark."
On the rugby theme, John Ure of Mount Hutton weighed in on the Sydney Roosters' Grand Final performance with characteristic wordplay, observing that while the Roosters were described elsewhere as "poultry in motion," he did not recall them incurring many "fowls" during the game.
Barry Wooldridge of Harden, meanwhile, rekindled an old school connection, confirming he had attended Marist Brothers in Parramatta in the late 1950s and believed he may have crossed paths with a fellow correspondent, noting that the other man's family "was well known and regarded in the district."
Words, Moths and the Case for More "Ruth"
A lively discussion about words that exist only in their negative form drew to a close, with Rob McPaul of Thirroul making a final contribution. After weeks of readers nominating words like "couth," "kempt" and "shevelled," McPaul pointed out that no one had yet raised "ruth," describing it as a beautiful word meaning compassion or pity. He said he had known many women named Ruth who were "ruth" by nature, and expressed a wish for more such behaviour in society generally and less of its ruthless opposite.
Caz Willis of Bowral, meanwhile, could not resist a pun at the expense of a bogong-moth-themed Halloween party, asking whether anyone taking food to such an event would be "carrying the moth-er load."
And on the topic of HSC Advanced English, Donald Hawes of Peel observed that students with "very immigrant-style names" were increasingly represented among those taking the subject, expressing hope that longer-established Australian families might follow their lead.
