By Pam Kiriakidis
THE Australia Tertiary Admission Ranking, ATAR, were on students’ minds last week, waking up on Monday to results after a year of back-to-school learning.
The completion rate of the Victorian Certificate of Education, VCE, was at 98 per cent, while 15,163 students across the state graduated with a certificate of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning, VCAL.
Assumption College Kilmore was in the top 25 per cent in the state, with four students receiving scores above 90.
Over the past five years, the school has recorded an increase in ATAR scores of 50 and above.
Assumption College principal Kate Fogarty said she was pleased to find students going after their futures, with 50 per cent of VCE students and 100 per cent of VCAL students offered tertiary courses and apprenticeships.
“Our year 12 students are once again on track to receive offers to courses in their chosen fields,” she said.
“Congratulations also to our VCAL students, who all have either work, apprenticeship or further study options lined up – we’re so pleased for you all.”
Dux of Assumption was Samuel Bell, who took on science and maths subjects, and said it was ‘all good feelings’ when he discovered his ATAR, made possible through the school’s strong support system.
“Assumption has been really good, my teachers are amazing, they put in so much time and effort into answering all my questions, reading practise drafts, the time and dedication that they’re putting in on their behalf, it’s really helped,” he said.
“My family has been very good in just believing in me and giving me a space at home to do homework … and being there emotionally.”
Mr Bell said in the next few years he was keen on completing a Bachelor of Science and advised students to consider their future field when selecting VCE subjects.
“My advice would be to follow your passions, do what interests you because it’s obviously going to be way easier to do well in areas that you’re interested and excited about,” he said.
Broadford Secondary College’s top VCE student was Oliver McKinlay, who scored 92.25. The school also had four students offered early university entry in areas such as psychology and the arts.
Broadford Secondary College principal Tania Pearson said the school was focused on supporting students in achieving their goals when completing their final year.
“COVID definitely had an impact … so we’re already looking at strategies of what we can do next year to bump things up,” she said.
“I’m always proud of our students, they really worked well together, they were a close-knit cohort.”
Wallan Secondary College principal Michael Ritchie said Monday morning was a celebration of the journey of the year 12 students, who endured two years of remote learning before a year without lockdown disruptions.
“In some way, they had to grow really quickly and adapt to the pressures of year 12, as well as trying to balance everything that comes their way with part time work employment,” he said.
“It’s been quite stressful for the staff and students, so today it was just an opportunity to congratulate each other.
Wallan Secondary College entered the school year with 45 VCAL students, 77 students enrolled for VCE, acknowledging student Sean Holt as DUX with an ATAR above 80.
Mr Ritchie said the completion rates at Wallan had increased this year, now sitting at 89 per cent.
He said the unscored option for VCE had been attractive to some students, with the school finding more students choosing the pathway to maintain school life and work.
“What we’ve seen is that there’s been an increasing number of students that potentially have gone unscored to try and manage that work life balance,” Mr Ritchie said.
