Lucy Bucknell is a Yass High School success story. The 22-year-old has a science degree under her belt and is onto her second as a first-year medical student in Sydney.
However, success doesn’t often come without many hours buried in books, and Ms Bucknell knows all too well the stress of exams. That is why she has joined a group of graduates providing free tutoring to year 11 and 12 regional students.
The Regional Education Support Network (RESN) is a not-for-profit service with 250 tutors who can answer questions or review essays relating to 30-plus Higher School Certificate (HSC) subjects within 24 hours. They can also provide advice about exam preparation and university life.
“RESN established to link senior high school students in regional areas to volunteer graduated students who have done well in their high school studies and are pursuing further education,” Ms Bucknell said.
“It was established by friends of mine at the Australian National University for Victorian students when they realised the gap in tutoring services available to those in the city compared to the country, both in distance and cost.”
In 2020, the service expanded to provide tutoring to New South Wales students studying the HSC.
Yass High School Year 12 school captain Megan Kemp has used RESN for two months and said she found it “super helpful, especially during remote learning”.
“It’s extremely easy to use, and I have consistently gained feedback and responses within a few hours of sending in questions. This network is positively supporting my year 12 studies, and I have learnt so many helpful tips and tricks for conquering the HSC. I highly recommend that all senior students sign-up and use this incredible resource for free!” Ms Kemp said.
To date, RESN has helped 1300 students from 117 schools.
Ms Bucknell mostly helps RESN with outreach work but is also registered as a biology and personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) tutor. She said tutoring was rewarding.
Recently, a Year 11 student needed help with anatomy. Their question was about which muscles flex the shoulder. It happened to be something we had covered in a university class a week before, so I looked at the poster on my wall and provided the answer. He was so happy and grateful, and it felt good to know he got something out of it,” Ms Bucknell said.
All tutors have achieved at least a band six in their subject and come from a mix of regional and metro backgrounds.
The subjects they provide help in cover commerce, English, the humanities, languages, maths and science.
How often students use the tutors is up to them, Ms Bucknell said.
“Once they come online, they select the subject they want to ask a question about, and a tutor will respond within 24 hours. Students aren’t paired with one tutor for safety reasons and because the tutors aren’t always available. However, if a student finds a particular tutor helpful, they can continue to ask them questions in their original thread.”
For more information, visit www.resn.org.au. Students must attend regional schools to be eligible.
