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Why these HSC students were grinning about a 2000-year-old public notice

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Kowal, E. (2026, October 23). Why these HSC students were grinning about a 2000-year-old public notice. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/why-these-hsc-students-were-grinning-about-a-2000-year-old-public-notice-20261023-p6173l.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-23 · by Emily Kowal

Quick Summary

During their Higher School Certificate (HSC) exam on Friday, students in Parramatta Marist high school faced a question about a 2000-year-old public notice from Pompeii and Herculaneum that banned the dumping of human waste near water fountains. One student, Daniel Barletta, found humor in the historical document's relevance to current political life. The exam also included questions related to an exhibition on Pompeii visited by students earlier in Canberra, with a specific question about whether displaying human remains from the ancient city should be halted. Teachers praised the fairness of the exam and highlighted the interpretive nature of studying ancient history.
Written by AI on 2026-10-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Parramatta Marist High School students in Sydney took their ancient history HSC exams on Friday and were surprised to find a question about a 2000-year-old public notice from Pompeii that banned the dumping of human waste near water fountains, which amused them due to its relevance and historical context. The exam included topics like Sparta and Hatshepsut of Egypt, but the Pompeii exhibition they visited in Canberra at the end of their Year 11 coincidentally covered similar material.

The students had previously seen plaster casts of victims from the 79 AD eruption of Mt Vesuvius in the exhibition. This visit happened almost a year before the exam, making them feel prepared and creating an amusing connection for one student named Daniel Barletta who found humor in ancient civic regulations. With 7755 students taking part in this year's HSC exams on Pompeii and Herculaneum, these coincidences provided a memorable and engaging experience for those at Parramatta Marist.

Written for “HSC Students Uncover Ancient Notice” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 HSC Students Uncover Ancient Notice
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-23 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 6022 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Emily Kowal
16 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “They think they will be thrown into the deep end.
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🔮 “Gradually [the writing] will come off, symbolising letting go of your worries.”
🔮 Australian students would face national exams in years 6, 10 and 12 under a radical policy overhaul to fix the nation’s “inconsistent” school assessment system, which the federal opposition said warrants serious consideration.
🔮 Joining the University of Sydney’s faculty of medicine and health from this month, Ardern will engage with students, researchers and the wider community through guest lectures, masterclasses and mentoring.
🔮 As they stared at the plaster casts of the voids left by victims killed in the 79AD eruption of Mt Vesuvius, they had no idea that, almost a year later, the exhibition would feature in their HSC exam.
🔮 “I don’t think it’s olive oil but it could be.
🔮 Instead, Spiers said students across the state received a “gift” in the form of an easily adaptable question that could be moulded to prepared essays.
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🔮 On Tuesday, the biggest exam of a student’s school experience, the HSC, will begin.
Also by Emily Kowal
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2026-10-31 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by Emily Kowal →

Topics

Canberra Egypt HSC Parramatta Marist Pompeii

Subjects

Canberra GPE · 3× Barletta PERSON · 2× Egypt GPE · 2× HSC ORG · 2× Harley PERSON · 2× Parramatta Marist ORG · 2× Daniel Barletta PERSON · 1× Hatshepsut GPE · 1× Pompeii GPE · 1× Sparta GPE · 1×

Narrative

As they stared at the plaster casts of the voids left by victims killed in the 79AD eruption of Mt Vesuvius, they had no idea that, almost a year later, the exhibition would feature in their HSC exam.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23
🔮 As they stared at the plaster casts of the voids left by victims killed in the 79AD eruption of Mt Vesuvius, they had no idea that, almost a year later, the exhibition would feature in their HSC exam.
2026-10-23 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Why these HSC students were grinning about a 2000-year-old public notice · assertive framing

Claims (28 extracted, 0 hedged)

What does a 2000-year-old public notice banning the dumping of human faeces near water fountains reveal about political life in Pompeii and Herculaneum? asserted
notice → ban → Pompeii
It’s the four-mark question that had Parramatta Marist high school student Daniel Barletta grinning on Friday as he tackled his ancient history HSC exam. asserted
he → ’ → exam
“There’s something comedic about people dumping waste in the street ... how they are declaring that you must stop doing this because it’s such a problem,” the 18-year-old said. asserted
old → ’ → this
“It brings a smile to your face.” asserted
It → bring → face
Over three hours, 7755 students tackled short-answer questions about Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as three other in-depth topics of choice. asserted
students → tackle → choice
At Parramatta Marist, students studied Sparta, Hatshepsut of Egypt, and New Kingdom Egypt to the Death of Thutmose IV. asserted
students → study → IV
The students said a string of coincidences left them in good shape. asserted
string → say → shape
At the end of year 11, the class visited a Pompeii exhibition in Canberra. asserted
class → visit → Canberra
As they stared at the plaster casts of the voids left by victims killed in the 79AD eruption of Mt Vesuvius, they had no idea that, almost a year later, the exhibition would feature in their HSC exam. asserted
exhibition → star → exam
“It was pretty neat, it goes full circle,” student Lachlan Doan-Vance said. asserted
Vance → go → ?
The exam question: Should the display of human remains from Pompeii and Herculaneum be stopped? asserted
display → stop → Pompeii
It referenced an article written about the Canberra exhibition. asserted
It → reference → exhibition
Doan-Vance said it helped to have seen the exhibition in person. asserted
it → say → person
“I talked about the source and how while it does still show the horrific remains, [the museum] partially obscured them,” he said. asserted
he → talk → them
“It brought to this greater idea of while there is an inherent human dignity to each of the victims of Pompeii, there’s also value in their study, in that they should be preserved.” asserted
they → bring → study
Barletta agreed: “Witnessing firsthand how they display [remains] with the warnings on the walls, and putting them in a separate area because it can be disturbing to some to see ... asserted
it → agree → some
ethically we have come a long way.” asserted
we → come → ?
Ancient-history teacher Grace Harley described the exam as very fair and was excited about the Canberra coincidence. asserted
Harley → describe → coincidence
“It’s such an interesting subject, but a hard subject. asserted
It → ’ → ?
I love it,” she said. asserted
she → love → it
She pitches ancient history as a “puzzle with less of the pieces”. asserted
She → pitch → pieces
“With modern [history] you have all the pieces – more than you want and that can be overwhelming – whereas with ancient, a lot of it comes from interpretation and analysis,” Harley said. asserted
Harley → have → interpretation
“Where does the source come from? asserted
source → come → Where
That can be really fun for kids to fill the blanks in.” asserted
kids → fill → blanks
Asked why they enjoyed studying ancient history, the students pointed to their teacher, Harley. asserted
students → ask → teacher
“Whenever we had a substitute [teacher], it never felt the same. asserted
it → have → teacher
We didn’t have that charismatic character in the room teaching us,” Barletta said. asserted
Barletta → have → us
The HSC continues until November 5. asserted
HSC → continue → November
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