Kaikoura High School is opening its doors on Monday for senior students to sit their NCEA exams.
Engineers and Ministry of Education officials have given the all-clear to a number of the schools' buildings following last week's 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
Kaikoura High School deputy principal Jo Fissenden says giving even one student the chance to sit their exam will be worth it.
"They have the chance to take a derived grade anyway, so they've got nothing to lose. They might as well try and show what they've learned, and for many of our students if they are in a situation where things aren't too bad for them, they may want that chance to feel like it's just another day."
The students have the opportunity to sit their level one and two home economics exams as well as level two and three chemistry.
"The first exam will start at 9:30am, as it would for anyone doing NCEA," says Ms Fissenden. "Any of our students that are actually due to sit that exam are welcome to come in and take that opportunity and see if they can't get the grade that they actually deserve for the year's worth of work."
Four of the school's 90 students came in to sit their exams, principal John Tait says.
"[It's] a lot smaller than would normally would be here, but I guess that these students feel robust enough to sit an exam with helicopters going overhead at the same time. It can't be easy for them.
"Some students we know have left town, other students can't get into town to come to school, and I think for other students the thought of sitting inside a restricted space is just too much for them."
Ms Fissenden says it was important to offer a sense of normality to the affected students.
"The chance even for one of them to sit their exams, if that's what they want to do, and it's the work that they've put in and a sense of normality, then we're happy to offer that opportunity."
Newshub.
