Pretoria - A bit nervous but confident - that was the general feeling of matric pupils at Hoerskool Waterkloof as they prepared to write English Paper 1 on Monday.
"I'm a little nervous but I think it's quite cool that matric pupils throughout the country will be writing the exams together," said Conrad Bezuidenhout.
He wrote his first paper - Alpha Mathematics - last week which had helped to get some of the exam nerves out of the way.
"I think I'm well prepared for English. I've been going through previous exams... I don't think it will be that difficult," he said.
Far from stressing about today's paper, Conrad was anxious to get it out of the way so he can set his sights on accounting.
He is expecting a difficult accounting exam tomorrow but is confident he will cope and get the nine distinctions he is striving for.
The school's head boy, Jacques Small, said good preparation and good teachers should be enough to get him through the English paper.
"I think we know what to expect. I don't think today's paper is the one to worry about," he said.
Jacques, who also wrote Alpha Mathematics last week has a lot of well-wishers for the exams and is feeling the weight of expectation.
"Everyone wants you to perform well but at the end of the day, you do what you can," he said. Jacques hopes to achieve at least seven distinctions.
Leandri Jaubert was a lot more nervous than her two classmates. The English paper marks the start of her exams.
"I'm anxious and stressed but also excited. I just want it get started so I can get it over with," she said.
Looking ahead, Leandri said she was expecting challenging papers for maths and science - especially physics.
"I'm a bit worried about those papers. I hope I do well. I've been made a lot of promises if I do well," she said.
Immediately after the English exam, Leandri will hit the books to prepare for the more challenging subjects. - BuaNews
