A collective sigh of relief could almost have been heard from the class of 2017 on Friday as the now former year 12 students found out their Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs).
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Tomaree High School’s year 12 cohort gathered in the library on Friday morning, hours after ATARs were released, to share their results with friends and teachers.
PD/H/PE teacher Charnelle Crossingham was elated with the results her class of 14 achieved in the Higher School Certificate (HSC).
Eight students received a band six result, meaning they scored a mark of 90 or above in the HSC for the subject.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Ms Crossingham said.
“It’s a real credit to the kids who put all the hard work in. This result takes a lot of dedication on both parts.”
Ms Crossingham said there was no secret to her teaching success.
She said she has “a lot of fun” with her students to engage them in the subject matter and prepared them as best as she could for examination time.
Among the eight students who achieved a band six for PE was Ellie Wagland.
The 17 year old received a mark of 98 for PE, the fourth highest result in NSW for 2017.
PE was not the only subject Ellie excelled in. She also achieved a 92 in legal studies and 91 in geography. Ellie just missed a band six result for biology, achieving a 89.
On Friday, Ellie found found out how those marks translated into an ATAR – 96.25.
“I did not expect those results at all,” an elated Ellie said.
The secret to her success was a lot of study and looking at past exam papers.
Ellie’s result has almost guaranteed her a spot at university where she has applied to study environmental science and law.
Principal Sue Xenos said based on results, Ellie would likely be Tomaree High School’s Dux this year.
Ten Tomaree students from the 129 that sat the HSC this year achieved band six result, earning them a spot on the distinguished list. There were 57 students that achieved a band five result (80 and above).
“We’re always really proud of our students,” Ms Xenos said.
“There were high expectations of the kids who then rose to those expectations. That’s what life’s about – challenging yourself and working hard. It shows you can do it if you put the work in.”
The school’s deputy principal, Sue D’Arcy, said she was “very proud” and “absolutely delighted” with the students and their results.
“I’ve always said to them ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’. Working hard, working consistently, using your feedback from teachers, look at how you can improve, that’s how you succeed.”
A teacher for 34 years, Ms D’Arcy has seen the class of 2017 grow from timid year 7 students to young adults on the cusp of the next stage of their lives.
“It’s an absolute privilege to watch young people grow,” she said.
“And you really do watch them grow. They come in for the year 6 transition then they come to high school. You watch them grow and mature, to start realising their dreams and ambitions. It really is special.”
Another Tomaree student happy with their HSC results was Jessica Sheppard, 17.
Jessica one of the eight PE students who achieved a band six for the subject – she received a mark of 94. It was her best mark behind English and legal studies in which she achieved marks of 86 – band five results.
The Anna Bay resident said she was happy with her ATAR – 87.7.
“I’m really happy with that,” she said.
Jessica has already received early acceptance into Macquarie University.
Jemima Sproule, 18, achieved an ATAR of 66. The Fingal Bay resident studied six subjects for the HSC, including Korean via distance education.
“I got what I needed to get into most unis I applied for,” she said.
Samuel Gannon, 18, from Anna Bay said he went “really well” in the HSC. His ATAR, 71.15, will allow him to study medical engineering at Newcastle University in 2018.
“I was a bit nervous about it,” he said. “But I was really happy this morning after seeing my result.”
Aliesha Edmunds, 17, from Corlette, and Zac Liddell, 18, from Boat Harbour were also happy with their results.
The students were two of the eight that achieved band six results in PE.
Round two of university offers will be sent out by the Universities Admissions Centre on December 21.
Applicants can check if they have an offer on the My UAC mobile app or on UAC’s website from 7.30am.
“The pre-Christmas offer round ensures that offers are made to as many students as possible and as soon as possible, so students don’t have an agonising wait to find out if they’ve got into a course,” Kim Paino, general manager of marketing and engagement at UAC, said.
Statistics for this year’s ATAR include:
- 57,061 students were eligible for an ATAR. This is 1105 more than in 2016.
- 46 students received the top ATAR of 99.95. Of these students, 22 were female and 24 were male. They came from a mix of government and non-government schools and studied a wide range of courses. The most popular subjects studied by these students were English Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1, Mathematics Extension 2 and Chemistry.
- 16.4 per cent of students received an ATAR of 90.00 or above, 32.7 per cent received an ATAR of at least 80.00 and 48.5 per cent at least 70.00.
- The median ATAR was 69.00 this year, slightly higher than in 2016. To achieve a middle ATAR, students generally need to be in the middle of their courses and receive HSC marks between 70 and 80. However, because of the large percentage of students with marks between 70 and 80, the ATARs of students with HSC marks around 80 will often be very different from the ATARs of students with HSC marks around 70.
- The median ATAR for females was 70.15 whereas the median ATAR for males was 67.65.
Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
