Kavanagh College pupils joined thousands of secondary pupils across the country yesterday as they entered the pressure cooker end-of-year exams period.
The first of the NCEA exams, scholarship drama, was held on Friday but yesterday was the start of the big exams - level 1 mathematics and level 2 English, as well as scholarship te reo Maori.
Today's exams include level 1 science, level 2 mathematics and scholarship biology.
The final exams finish on December3.
Kavanagh College deputy principal Steve Read said yesterday's exams had ''gone without a hitch'' for the school's pupils.
''It's been a good start. These kids are pretty well-organised and ready.''
Pictured in the foreground are (from left) Olivia Harris-Rhodes, Caitlan McKinlay (back to camera), Callie Sword, Zachariah Hardy and Maddy Hewland minutes before sitting their level 1 mathematics exam.
