A Blaxland High School student had already proven herself with the paddle and HSC results have now shown she is no slouch with the pen.
Olympic kayak hopeful Jessica Fox topped more than 14,000 students to finish first in the state in personal development, health and physical education, the achievement going a long way to securing her a university entrance score of 98.5.
Despite always aiming for the top on and off the water, Jessica said she had outstripped her own expectations.
“I’m a very competitive person so at school I was always trying to get the best marks I could and keep my ranks pretty high but I can’t say my aim was to come first in the state,” said Jessica. “That just happened and I was really surprised.”
The news was so unexpected that Jessica originally thought she was in trouble when the Board of Studies called to relay the good news.
It caps a remarkable year for Jessica who has spent extended periods overseas racing her way to a pair of World Cup gold medals.
The 17-year-old paid tribute to the support from her teachers and principal at Blaxland High School.
“I did miss a lot of school but I’ve always wanted to do well academically as well so I did study quite a bit overseas even though it was hard juggling training and competing in international events, but all the hard work paid off so I’m pretty happy,” she said.
With a better than expected Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 98.5, Jessica is reconsidering what course to pursue at university next year.
There is little time to soak in the stunning achievements with the Leonay resident set to race off against four other London Olympics contenders in the single kayak event when selection trials begin in February. With just one spot available the competition will be fierce.
“It’s going to come down to who's best on the day,” she said.
Other HSC results:
Blaxland High School
Blaxland High School congratulates its high achieving students with Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranks (ATAR) over 90 (known at this time): Jessica Fox 98.5; Chris Macalpine 98.45; Jeff Troth 96.4; Mitchell Clarke 95.3; Victoria Prior 94.8 (medical science on scholarship); Sam Linas 92.15; Ashley Dale 91.15; Mitch Reberger 91.35; Luke McDonald 90.5;
Many more students achieved an ATAR in the 80s including Sally Alrich-Smythe 86.75, Johanna Mann 84.95, Phillip Hamilton 84.1, Chris Burton 83.2, Grace Cameron-Lee 82.45, Mitch Brown 82, Megan Richards 81.5 and Ineke Hendricksen 81.05
The school received 45 Band 6 results. Our distinguished achievers were: Jessica Fox; Anna Baker; Rebekah Burns; Grace Cameron Lee; Mitchell Clarke; Michael Collins; Elliott Cox; Ashlea Dale; Amrith Dassanayake; Jonathan Delbridge; Michael Farmer; Phillip Hamilton; Joshua Hurley; Sam Linas; Chris Macalpine; Johanna Mann; Jack May; Luke Mc Donald; Kirstie Newbold; Victoria Prior; Mitchell Reberger; Megan Richards; Elen Rutley; Jeff Troth; Brianna Waddell.
Special mention to Joshua Hurley from the Autism Unit who received a Band 6 in IPT.
Many students achieved their personal best with Bands 5 & 4 to which they should be congratulated.
Blue Mountains Grammar School
Year 12 students at Blue Mountains Grammar School were rewarded for their consistent and dedicated approach to their studies with a wonderful set of HSC results.
29 per cent of the cohort achieved Band 6 results (90 or more in a 2 Unit course) and approximately 19 per cent gained an ATAR above 90.
One of the most pleasing outcomes was 70 per cent of students got results that placed them in the top 30 per cent of the state.
Xinyi Li was Dux of the year group achieving an ATAR of 99.15.
Xinyi gained a Premier's Award for achieving a Band 6 score in at least ten of her units of study and was placed third in the state in Chinese (background speakers).
The Visual Arts major work of Lilianne Ivins won selection to ArtExpress, Quinn Cretney-Ross' major work was shortlisted for ArtExpress and the major design project (design and technology) by Matthew Barman was shortlisted for inclusion in the DesignTech exhibition.
Year 12 made a magnificent contribution to the life of Blue Mountains Grammar School and will be greatly missed as they move to the next stage of their lives.
Katoomba High School
Katoomba High School is very pleased with its Year 12 HSC results.
Solid results were achieved in all subjects.
High performing subjects included Drama, English Advance, Geography, Modern History, Music, Textiles and Hospitality.
A number of students have already received early entry into university with many students gaining ATAR results that will allow them to enter their chosen university courses in 2012.
Korowal School
Korowal School continued the tradition of impressive results in this year’s HSC.
The Korowal HSC Pathways approach allows students to undertake their HSC over more than one year. This means students can choose from one of two pools of subjects.
This year students completed chemistry, standard and advanced English, English extensions and English ESL, information processes and technology, general mathematics, music, society and culture, and visual arts.
Each student has reason to be proud of their achievements.
This year’s extension English achievements were exceptional with students also maintaining traditionally strong results in visual arts and music.
Penrith Selective High School
Outstanding results were achieved by Penrith Selective High School in the 2011 HSC.
There were over 200 results in excess of 90 per cent.
More than 50 students scored an ATAR over 90 while more than 20 achieved an ATAR above 97.
School Dux was Pradeesh Nallainathan with an ATAR of 99.45.
Other outstanding students included Rebecca Richardson and Leanne Ho who were ranked sixth and eight in the state, respectively, in society and culture and Luke Keneally, who came 10th in studies of religion.
There were also strong results in the arts with Kate Grima Farrell selected for Dance Callback which showcases the best HSC dance pieces. Shaun Ross and Rachel Greig were selected for the visual arts showpiece, Art Express.
St Columba’s High School
St Columba’s High School students notched up a grand total of 91 Band 6 results in this year’s Higher School Certificate (HSC).
Two students were nominated for the Encore music performance at the Sydney Opera House, one student for the OnSTAGE drama presentation and exhibition, one was nominated for the DesignTECH exhibition of outstanding projects from design and technology students, and there were many ATAR scores in excess of 90, according to principal Delma Horan.
“The English results were also in the top 100 in the state,” Mrs Horan said. “Basically what we’ve got are a lot of kids who have worked really hard, and fantastic staff.
“I am so happy for everyone. The HSC is not all about the top ATAR scores, it’s about kids getting the best possible results they could get and we have got kids who have outperformed themselves.”
Students to do particularly well were Aidan Noney (ATAR of 98.8), Alex Synnott (98.6), Zan Cross (98.1), Tom Synnott (97.85), Jade Williamson (96.75), Annalisa Humphrys (96.5), Asher Taccori (95.4), Alison Cater (95.35), Alice Melton (95.2), and Ben Lawrence (95).
Audrey Marsh, who received an ATAR of 96.45, was also named on the HSC All-Round Achievers List after receiving Band 6 results across her program.
St Paul’s Grammar School
St Paul’s is pleased with the results of its HSC students across the board.
Sixty-seven per cent of all 2-unit results were over 70, and Band 6 results were achieved in ancient history, English advanced, food technology, studies of religion and visual arts.
English results placed St Paul’s as one of the leading schools in the Nepean/Hawkesbury district, which is particularly important for those students seeking to pursue tertiary study, as English is a compulsory subject for calculation of the ATAR.
All St Paul’s students are encouraged to set and achieve personal best results, and this has been the case again in 2011.
Sixty-two per cent of all students achieved at least one Band 5 or 6 result, showing that many students continue to find reward for their good efforts.
Students who undertook challenging extension classes did very well, including two students who scored 48/50 in music extension and English extension 2, while 40 percent of all extension results were above 40/50.
Winmalee High School
Winmalee High School’s Year 12 students earned 37 Band 6 results with a further 167 Band 5 results. There were 22 students who earned one or more Band 6 results, led by Jordan Casey who earned a place on the elite Premier’s Top All Rounder list. Jordan scored a Band 6 in all subjects studied which is an indication of the commitment she gave to her studies. Jordan was placed 14th in the state in biology and her ATAR was an impressive 99.45
There were a very large number of Winmalee High performing arts students accepted into prestige tertiary places through audition and interview. Examples include Cassie Colless, Rebecca Matheson and Bronte O’Neill who have won places in the Australian Institute of Music and Molly Sherden who has won a place in the International Performing Arts College (ED5). Winmalee High teachers are proud of the diverse range of subjects offered. They taught 34 externally examined HSC subjects and a further 12 were jointly delivered with TAFE.
More HSC results will be published in the January 4 edition of the Blue Mountains Gazette.
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