Among the St Columba’s Year 12 group were a whopping five sets of twins including the King girls, Olivia and Madeleine.

Even after walking out of their last tests, the girls found it difficult to believe it was all over.

“There’s just this nagging feeling at the back of your mind that there’s something you should be studying for still,” said Olivia.

The number one priority for the talented students was catching up on some much needed sleep after packed study programs had thrown their lives into disarray for the past few months.

All that is left to do now is wait until the all-important marks are released on December 17 and 18. Madeleine is not about to let nerves get the better of her.

“There’s nothing more we can do about it so fingers crossed it’s (the result) we wanted and what we deserved, because we’ve worked hard for it,” she said.

While unsurprisingly close, the girls have no fears about the possibility they will end up at different universities next year.

“It would probably be a valuable life lesson to be a bit more independent of each other,” said Olivia.

St Columba’s principal Delma Horan said it was always difficult to say goodbye to another Year 12 group.

“It’s very emotional because we love our kids and you do worry about them, but you know they are from great families and that they’ve had a great education, so the opportunities are really up to them to make the most of.

“You just hope and pray that they’re going to find success . . . it’s about having choices and we really think that the kids we work with here are developed so that they can make good, informed choices in life.”

This year saw 69,261 students across NSW — the largest group ever — complete their HSC in 113 different courses.