Thousands of students are scheduled to take the entrance exams for specialist and selective schools at two locations (Canterbury Park and Randwick Racecourses) in Sydney, Australia. This is an entrance exam for students who want to study advanced academic programs at public schools in the state of New South Wales.

However, chaos broke out as soon as parents brought their children to the exam site. Many people said the exam was delayed by more than an hour, causing frustration and anxiety.

Things became even more chaotic when hundreds of parents rushed to pick up their children after the first exam.

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The test provides students with the opportunity to gain entry into advanced academic programs in Australia's public primary and secondary school systems. Photo: Alison Bell/Abc.net.au

“It was like an otherworldly scene… I’ve never seen anything like it. Parents were just swarming like a moving umbrella, heading straight for the pick-up area, and it went on for an hour,” Alison Bell, a parent at the Randwick testing centre, told ABC Radio Sydney .

Ms Bell said the way the exam was organized this year was completely different from previous years - usually with fewer candidates and spread across multiple exam locations.

“Just think about it: Putting thousands of children in one place like this is bound to cause congestion,” she said.

She also expressed concern about the psychological impact on students of having to undergo stressful exams in such chaotic circumstances.

At the Canterbury test site, police confirmed that riot police had been deployed to control the situation. Meanwhile, in Randwick, local authorities were also present to assist.

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Riot police were called in to help control crowds at the Canterbury racecourse. Photo: Shashi Pakala/Abc.net.au

Mohit Gupta, a parent of twins sitting the exam in Canterbury, said after waiting two hours he was told the exam had been cancelled due to an incident in the previous session.

“Parents whose children were taking the entrance exam for gifted classes were anxiously shouting: ‘Where are the children?’, while students taking the entrance exam for specialized schools were just standing there waiting, not knowing what was happening,” he recounted.

The New South Wales Departmentof Education has apologised for the incident. “We acknowledge that the organisational issues have caused disruption to students and their families. We sincerely apologise and thank everyone for their patience and calm,” the statement said.

Parents 'on duty' with their children studying for exams during the holiday When the whole country enters the 5-day holiday, many families choose to travel near or far or return to their hometowns, but many parents with children in the "final" stage of exams choose to stay at home.

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