Eliza Baker received an impressive ATAR of 90.45 and has plans to attend RMIT University in Melbourne to study a Bachelor of Foreign Arts.
She said she is ‘chuffed’ with her results and happy that her hard work has been validated.
While she is excited to enter the next chapter of her studies, Eliza said she doesn’t want to start studying in the current Covid environment, so she is choosing to take a little break to work and save money before moving to Melbourne.
“My grade went into our first lockdown three weeks into Year 11, so I am very wary of starting my tertiary studies when cases are still so high in Melbourne,” she said.
But there have been some really positive things to come out of learning during Covid, said Eliza.
‘‘Learning online highlights your weakest areas as well as your strongest.
“The last two years have taught us how resilient we could be and that through hardship we can still achieve great results,” she said.
Eliza said her best piece of advice for future Year 12s would be to study what you love.
‘‘You can always trust that you will perform best when doing what you’re interested in.
‘‘Choose subjects that you are passionate about and you will succeed,’’ she said.
Classmate Bayden Thompson received a 95.8 and will be heading to Sydney to study optometry at the University of New South Wales.
‘‘I was really ecstatic and shocked to receive my score as I didn’t think I was going to make the 95.
‘‘I only had one subject in a band six which was English extension, but the rest were high fives.’’
To achieve this remarkable result Bayden said he took it upon himself to complete lots of practice papers and questions to prepare for his exams.
‘‘Our teachers were also really supportive,’’ he said.
‘‘Every student in Year 12 is assigned a teacher who acts as their life coach and is there for anything you might need, so that is super helpful.’’
Students Molly Shaw who received an 88, and Olivia Catchcart who received an 86.25, said doing their final years of schooling through Covid was an ‘interesting’ experience.
‘‘We were lucky in some ways because online learning was already up and running for us, so we didn’t have many teething issues.
‘‘But you are definitely required to be more self-sufficient and organised to stay on top of your studies when learning at home,’’ said Olivia.
Molly said one of the most difficult parts of the year was having their final exams pushed back due to a lockdown the weekend before they were set to start.
‘‘Our prep was thrown out of the window once exams were pushed back, we were meant to finish early October but instead finished early December,’’ she said.
Molly will be heading to the Australia Catholic University (ACU) to study nursing and Olivia will be attending university in Melbourne to study wildlife and conservation.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell congratulated all school leavers for achieving results which were on par to those of previous years.
“The Class of 2021 should feel so proud of what they have achieved today, succeeding despite the challenges of a global pandemic,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Everything our latest graduates have accomplished over the past two years will hold them in good stead for their next chapter, whether they are looking to go to university or start training or work.
‘‘I also want to remind students that if you didn’t receive the results you wanted, there are still countless pathways available to help you achieve your goals.’’
