With year 12 exams knocking on the door of year 12 students, it's been a topsy-turvy year for the upcoming graduates.

During the second round of remote learning, Mr Newson said the first block had some difficulties to navigate.

"It was a big shock and it was hard to get used to being at home and shaking the feeling that you were meant to be at school," he said.

"It was a strange feeling. There was no one else around you and it felt like you had done something wrong and were at home because you weren't allowed to go to school.

OTHER NEWS:

"I was able to adapt more quickly the second time around and those feelings weren't there but I had a greater understanding of what it was all about.

"I guess it's like anything new - there are a number of different thought processes everyone goes through at the time."

Mr Newson said he found staying focused was the hardest part to remote learning.

RELATED: The Graduation project | A year of self growth for Marian captain Amy Harris

"There can be a lot of distractions within the home that can be easily used as an excuse not to do work," he said.

"Mobile phones can be a huge distraction at home. I try to put my phone away and it's not at my desk and there is no temptation to look at it.

"I find once I'm in the mindset to do my work it's actually hard to break out of it sometimes."

MORE NEWS:

As the end of year exams loom closer, Mr Newson said his nerves were growing each day.

"I find it's a lot harder to ask questions to teachers because of the old saying you don't know what you don't know," he said.

"The teachers have been really supportive it's hard because if you don't know what questions you should be asking then it makes it hard to ask them."

Mr Newson has his sights set on studying medical imaging at Deakin Geelong but is open to change, depending on the circumstances.

"If remote learning is still in place next year I might have a gap year and continue working in my casual job for another year," he said.

"I'm not a huge fan of remote learning. I would definitely prefer to be in the classroom environment than at home.

READ MORE:

"If remote learning continued indefinitely I would probably look at something that is more practical for me."

Elected college captain in 2020, Mr Newson said there was a number of things that all the students had missed out on.

"There are things like the athletics day which is a pretty big day at our school," he said.

"It makes our year 11 year that much more special now,

"Hopefully with how this year has panned out and all the things that are cancelled it encourages people to participate in things that might be out of their comfort zone because they might not get the chance again.

"All the hard work that goes into planning those events shouldn't be taken for granted because you never know when your last one will be."

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from The Ararat Advertiser. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Ararat shire, sign up here.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Ararat Advertiser, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ararat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great town.