HSC written exams were due to commence on October 15, but were pushed back to give students extra time with their teachers.

They will now begin on October 20 with English and finish on November 11 with Drama.

The NSW Education Standards Authority has issued planning guidelines to principals to help keep everyone involved in the written exams healthy and safe, plus minimise disruption to students if there is a COVID case.

Schools will ask students before they enter exams to confirm they do not have any flu-like symptoms and are not required to self-isolate.

Schools have been asked to seat no more than 75 students per room, limit the cohort's interaction with other grades and prioritise cleaning for exam venues.

Schools have also been asked to have an alternative venue on stand by and to consider additional exam supervisors.

Newcastle Grammar head of school Erica Thomas welcomed the "sensible" guidelines.

"My priority is these kids get their HSC and I want to ensure they are safe when they do it and they are doing it under the best possible conditions and not worried," she said.

"I am very grateful for the regulations that came out.

"We've had so many things, schools this year, that are different, and to be honest it has been more work, but it's worth it, it's a priority.

"This is not something I'm finding a terrible imposition."

Ms Thomas said her 80 year 12 students would sit their exams in the former Newcastle East Public School site, on the corner of Bolton and Church streets, and Newcastle Grammar would act as the alternative venue.

"We were very conscious that almost two weeks after the school holidays we could find that in NSW there is an increase in COVID cases, because so many people were on the move in the holidays," Ms Thomas said.

"We didn't want to put year 12 themselves - who were very, very good in the holidays, they weren't going away or doing a whole range of things because a lot of them were here at the school - [at risk].

"We think it would be safer in a separate venue. This means they don't come into contact with the rest of the school population and this should keep them much safer."

Ms Thomas said she'd been deliberating for a few months between three venues to hire.

"We wanted to be able to walk and we wanted it to be close enough for our staff to be able to go down before the exam, because that's an important part of it, being able to say 'It's all going to be okay', or 'remember to do this' as they're walking into the room very nervously. I did not want to lose that in any way."

Ms Thomas said about 16 or 17 students would sit their exams in each of the building's five rooms to reduce their contact with others.

Students have been asked to arrive no more than 20 minutes before their exams and not mingle in large groups before or afterwards.

"That's pretty difficult with a group of 18 years olds that are hyped up and excited and the first thing they want to do is say 'How did you answer that question?" she said.

"So that is going to be a challenge every school is facing.

"We're going to try, but we know they're teenagers and we've also got to let them have a moment of that, otherwise this is going to be a very difficult experience for them.

"I'll be basing a member of staff down there throughout the exam period and that is part of the answer. I don't think we can prevent it, but we'll do our best.

"We've got to try and follow the protocols and we think we can manage it."

Ms Thomas said the cohort had shown strength.

"I've got one of the most resilient year 12 groups I've ever seen," she said.

"I watched as every event was cancelled for them... but our year 12 group on the whole has taken this with a great deal of optimism."

The school live-streamed the graduation assembly. It could not hold its traditional graduation dinner with parents, so will host its first student-only formal after exams.

Ms Thomas said the school would continue to check the temperatures of - and give sanitiser to - every student and staff member each day for the remainder of the year.

A total of 76,310 students are enrolled in one or more HSC courses this year, including 5701 in the Hunter.

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