Thousands of central Victorian VCE students are preparing to sit the General Achievement Test on Wednesday, on their first day back in school buildings in months.

Bendigo Senior Secondary College principal Dale Pearce said the pandemic meant the GAT was of greater significance this year, so it was important students did as well as possible.

Read more: Regional primary students to return to on-site classes a week earlier

Mr Pearce said somewhere in the state a school might have to close during end-of-year exams because of a COVID-19 outbreak, or some students might have to self isolate.

All students studying a 3/4 VCE subject sit the GAT. It is then used to create a derived examination score for anyone whose results are affected by illness, accident or personal trauma.

BSSC will have about 950 students sitting the GAT on Wednesday. COVID-19 restrictions mean they will be spread across 70 rooms, with 84 supervisors.

Mr Pearce said this was virtually every classroom in the school, plus a gymnasium, assembly hall, and the Ulumbarra foyer. He said it was a stretch, but the school had just managed to accommodate all the students on one site.

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Marist College Bendigo principal Darren McGregor said the school had been fortunate it could fit all 3/4 students in its assembly hall, with spaced out tables.

Mr McGregor said the day was one of mixed emotions for students: the first time they had seen their peers in months, tied with a three hour handwritten exam, sat in masks.

He said handwriting would be a particular challenge for students, as learning from home meant they had completed more work online recently.

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