HUNDREDS of Bendigo Senior Secondary College students have celebrated their year 12 graduation in unusual circumstances after an unusual year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There were no family or friends in attendance at the Ulumbarra Theatre on Wednesday afternoon.
Instead, the whole event was filmed so parents, family members, and friends could attend virtually.
Read other news:
The cohort was separated into different staggered time slots to ensure appropriate social distancing.
Temperatures were checked at the entrance and masks were part of the dress code.
Students also received their graduation certificates with an elbow bump from principal Dale Pearce rather than a hand shake.
BSSC student Taylah Beard said she was excited and nervous to finally graduate after a year of on-and-off again remote learning.
"Getting to this point, you feel really accomplished," Miss Beard said.
"It would be better if we had parents here, but I think we're just happy with what we have at the moment and just trying to make the most of it."
Fellow BSSC student Liam Giofrelle said the cohort felt lucky to be graduating.
"I guess it's pretty good that we've still had a graduation," he said. "Some schools might not even have this opportunity. So I guess we're just pretty happy that we have this."
Read more:
Mr Giofrelle's mother Pam was one of the many parents who dropped their child off at the event but couldn't attend.
She said it was really disappointing families couldn't be part of the day.
"It's quite depressing and annoying and upsetting," Mrs Giofrelle said. "It's a real roller coaster of emotions. It's just annoying that they can't come together and celebrate."
Zara Austin, who also had her daughter Jaz graduating on Wednesday, said it would have been great if all of the students could have gathered together.
"Friendship groups can't really be together for graduation," she said.
"I know it would be hard - you can't have it any other way - but my daughter is graduating on her own really because all of her friends are graduating at different times.
"They will meet up later, but it's not really the same."
Mrs Giofrelle said families would be celebrating in different ways.
"We're celebrating with friends," she said. "Again, because of the capped numbers, we will be staggering it."
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.