Aboriginal Studies

Madeleine Blackmore is continuing a fine tradition at Cheltenham Girls High School, topping the State in Aboriginal Studies after former students took line honours in 2021 and 2023.

The accelerated student sat Aboriginal Studies in Year 11and credits a school trip to Central Australia when she was in Year 9 as igniting her passion for the subject.

“It was eye-opening. We slept under the stars every night,” she said.

In fact, it was a hat trick for Cheltenham Girls this year, with second and third place in Aboriginal Studies going to Ebony Klarich and Sophie Breen, respectively.

The school’s first Aboriginal Studies class was in 2010 and that year Cheltenham Girls took out first, second, third, fourth and fifth place in the State.

Principal Suellen Lawrence said the immersive course involves close connections to local Elders and community. Students also spend time at the remote Lilla Community, within the Watarrka National Park near Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory.

“Our students are engaging with history, culture and language in a real way. They’re learning Aboriginal ways from community and working with local Elders to create authentic projects,” she said.

Nearly every year since 2010 Cheltenham Girls has taken at least two of the top 5 places in Aboriginal Studies.

This year Cheltenham Girls also took four of the top 10 places in Investigating Science.

Studies of Religion 1

Abigal Matthew, of Macquarie Fields High School, was equal first in Studies of Religion 1 – the first public school student to top the course since 2013.

“Placing first felt kind of crazy,” she said.

Abigail’s real passion is Economics and her ultimate aspiration is to become Treasurer.

Next year she hopes to study for a double degree in Economics and Computer Science.

Primary Industries Examination

Bateson Pittman is a sixth-generation merino sheep and cattle farmer and delighted to be first in Primary Industries Examination.

“It’s an extraordinary achievement and it means a lot to my school and local community,” he said.

Bateson was a boarder at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School in Tamworth. His family property is near Walcha in northern NSW and farming is “deeply rooted in my veins and our family’s DNA”.

He hopes to one day be an agricultural leader and “a voice for rural Australians”.

“Australian agriculture is so important, domestically and internationally. Food and fibre production is the foundation of our nation,” he said.

Now working on a sheep and cattle property near Armidale, Bateson hopes to study agricultural science at university.

In 2024 Bateson was the Australian national champion in junior merino judging.

English Advanced

They didn’t have the same teacher – but they did share the same brilliant result.

North Sydney Girls’ Valery Lin and Emily Phi jointly topped English Advanced, suggesting the school is quite the flag-bearer in the subject.

“I think a lot of it comes from the school culture itself,” Emily said. “We were always asking for feedback from our teachers from our endless revisions.”

Jane Stocks and Kieran Gamble were the proud teachers who helped the girls register their stunning dual success.

Society and Culture

Emma Mitsak’s first in course was the inaugural first for Canterbury Girls High School.

Emma topped Society and Culture, a breakthrough for the school which had never had a student claim first in a subject – until now.

She credited her passionate teachers “who really care about the students and the subjects that they teach” and said she’ll take a gap year travelling Europe before embarking on a journalism degree.

Physics

North Sydney Boys High student Jay Chen was competing in freestyle wrestling until just before his exams, and training five to six times a week.

Jay, who came equal first in Physics, said a combination of training, exercise and study paid dividends.

“I would urge people not to give up on extracurriculars,” he said.

“It allowed me to academically perform the way I did in my course. It allows your brain to focus on something else, and it lets you return uniquely 'fresh' with a greater capacity to focus, learn and apply learning outcomes.”

Family and Community Studies

Milly Priest’s result in Community and Family Studies was nothing short of dazzling.

But the Orange High School student did always have a knack for the spectacular – the Schools Spectacular, that is.

A talented dancer who has participated in four of the annual school entertainment performances, Milly very much values the power of education.

Both her parents are teachers and she plans on following in their footsteps.

“They have been so supportive and encouraging throughout my whole schooling career and especially during the HSC. They pushed me to try my best and I definitely owe this to them,” she said.

Food Technology

Ella Sinclair certainly enjoyed some personal tuition when it came to studying Food
Technology at Blayney High School.

Ella received the highest HSC mark in Food Technology course in the state, studying food production, nutrition and the industry.

“That was my fun subject – it was only a small class with only three kids,” she said.

And her advice for next year’s HSC cohort: “Do what you love, because it’s easier to do well”.

Blayney High principal Narelle Beasley said Ella deserved every mark.

“Ella has been outstanding student throughout her time at Blayney High School. She has dedicated herself to her education and achieving the best possible results and obviously she’s been awarded the highest accolade – First In Course,” she said.

It’s a huge achievement - but amazingly not Ella Sinclair’s only major accolade this year.

Just a couple of months ago she and fellow Blayney High student Toby Tyrell were each given an Education Minister's Award for Excellence in Student Achievement at the Town Hall in Sydney.

Only 40 awards are given out across NSW each year representing outstanding achievement in academic excellence, leadership and commitment to their school community.

Ancient History

Arielle Gosling thought it was a scam when she received a call from NESA telling her she was first in course in Ancient History.

The Rose Bay Secondary College student is hanging out for her ATAR today to see if she wins a spot in a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws where she will continue her passion for Ancient History.

“I really like learning about diverse time periods and characters,” she said.

Language success

Hanun Shabrina was yesterday awarded two first in course certificates for Indonesian Continuers and Indonesian Extension, both studied through the NSW School of Languages.

More than 6,000 students learn through the Department of Education’s top language schools – the Secondary College of Languages and the NSW School of Languages.

This year students from the NSW School of Languages achieved eight first in course places – and 17 firsts for the Secondary School of Languages.

Another student to win two language firsts was Kayuri Yoshino from Baulkham Hills High School, who topped Korean Beginners and Japanese Continuers.

Over at Bonnyrigg High, the school was celebrating Lucia Lau, first in Chinese Beginners.

Lucia’s succinct advice for current HSC students: “Consistency is key. Maximise your hours but don’t cram and don’t be anxious.”

Engineering Studies

You could say Seamus Smart from the Northern Beaches Secondary College Balgowlah Boys Campus has lived up to his name, winning First in Course for Engineering Studies.

Seamus likes the fact that Engineering Studies offered a broad range of areas, from technical drawing to analysing the forces on trusses.

“This makes it a fun subject, which makes it easier to study. You need to get decent at a whole range of processes which reflects engineering itself,” he said.

Next year, Seamus will study the flexible engineering degree at UNSW, which will allow him to choose a specialisation at the end of first year.

History Extension 1

Alice Hynes from Hornsby Girls High School chose History Extension 1 for the HSC because “the past tells you a lot about the present”.

“It’s really politically relevant,” she said. “A shoutout to my teacher and my wonderful class. There were only four of us and we all helped each other”.

Alice hopes to study philosophy or the humanities at university next year.

Drama

Rupali Wadhwa from Penrith High School thanked her teacher, Anthony Vassallo, for putting in extra hours on weekends for drama workshops and essay seminars.

Penrith High’s dance captain and a cheerleader, Rupali also won a Minister’s Award for Student Excellence this year and plans to study business at university “and do drama on the side”.

“It’s such a proud moment for the school and for the effort Rupali and her teachers have put in,” her mum, Mridu Bhalla, said.

Retail Services Examination

Clutching a bouquet of flowers from her proud family, Angelina Khanh from Bankstown Girls High School said she cried when told she had topped the Retail Services Examination.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Angelina has received eight early entry offers to university and hopes to study commerce at UNSW where her sister studied.

Mathematics Extension 2

Terry Chen said his grandmother was the first to draw out his passion for learning and curiosity for knowledge.

The James Ruse Agricultural High School student came first in the top maths course, Mathematics Extension 2.

“She used to say, ‘Learn for yourself.’ It stuck with me then, and it still guides me now,” he said.

Terry has played badminton and soccer throughout school but in the last few years has been most interested in basketball and also volunteers at Vinnies.

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Emily Sonter loves nature and is happiest walking on the wild side.

This year’s winner for Earth and Environmental Sciences studied at Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College, The Entrance campus, and volunteers at a marine centre on the Central Coast where she runs fish feeding tours.

She wants to educate the public about how to protect the environment and is interested in environmental research and fieldwork after she completes a Bachelor of Science at the University of Sydney.

“My teacher Mr Wallace, who also taught me Science Extension, was an amazing mentor,” she said. “Apart from classwork, it was the little chats at recess and lunch that helped,” she said.