THERE are mixed emotions among Bendigo's year 12 students as they return to remote learning.
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Victorian students of all year levels will go back to learning from home on Wednesday.
Schools will still be open for vulnerable students and students whose parents are permitted workers.
Special schools are exempt from the changes.
Bendigo Senior Secondary College year 12 student Philippa Bywaters said she was quite excited to return to remote learning.
"The first time around, I was able to manage my time better so I wasn't that perturbed about (the announcement)," she said.
"I felt bad for my teachers having to prepare with only a day's notice. I was not too stressed about it myself but I understand it was quite stressful for others."
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Fellow BSSC year 12 student Cameron Lee said he was much more worried about the shift away from face-to-face classes.
"I was a little terrified," he said. "It wasn't a shock but I'm still not looking forward to it. It's a tough scenario.
"It was honestly pretty terrible the first time. My mental health went down in a big way and the workload seemingly increased. I think we're gong to need to stick with friends and catch up where we can."
Yasmin Matthews, another year 12 student at BSSC, had similar feelings.
"I guess it was a little bit disappointing," she said. "But it's what we need at the moment for everyone's health. That's the main priority."
Victorian students are expected to learn remotely for at least the next six weeks.
The changes mean year 12 students will only have about five weeks of face-to-face classes before their final exams.
Miss Matthews, 18, said she wasn't concerned about the quick turnaround, as long as there were no further changes to the exam schedule.
"I think it should be ok," she said. "I'm happy they didn't push them back any more. I think we have more than enough time to get everything done."
Mr Lee, 18, said the lack of face-to-face classes could put extra pressure on students.
"We need that class environment to prepare," he said. "It's not the same at all."
Mr Lee said along with classes, the COVID-19 pandemic added additional pressure for many students.
"I think a lot of people don't take into account the affect of the constant news (of COVID-19) and every conversation at school being about the virus," he said.
"It's taken over our lives in a big way. It's always in the back of your mind."
Miss Bywaters, 17, said students would need to band together to get through the final few months of 2020.
"I feel there are definitely a lot of unknowns," she said. "But I guess because we're in the same boat, we all have a lot of empathy for one another.
"The first time, everyone was very shocked. But now we just need to remember how lucky we are. We need to try and keep an open mind and look at the bright side of things."
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