WITH the year coming to a close and Christmas just around the corner, receiving ATARs on Thursday that surpassed expectations were the perfect gifts for the top achievers at Orange’s high schools.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The city’s duxes are all girls; Olivia Brooks from Kinross Wolaroi School, Abigail Carter from Orange Christian School, Elizabeth Clarke from Orange High School, Natasha Hewitt from James Sheahan Catholic High School and Hannah White from Canobolas Rural Technology High School.
Natasha topped the city with a mark of 99.25.
Orange’s top achievers agreed they had all received the Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranks they were hoping for.
“It was around what I was aiming for,” Olivia Brooks, who got one of the city’s highest ATARs of 98.95 and hopes to study medicine at University of NSW said.
Despite finishing HSC exams more than a month ago, Hannah White was still stressing about her final results until she received her ATAR of 89.05 yesterday.
“I feel like I can take a break now,” she said.
“It’s such a relief. I wanted to get anything over 88.”
An ATAR is a score from 0 to 99.95, and is required to apply for a position in a university course, however Elizabeth Clarke, who was proud of her 93.50 ATAR, already knew Macquarie University had a spot for her in their international relations and law degree.
“I got early entry, I found out after the exams because I think they still want you to do well, but I think it’s really good because they judge you on the whole package, not just your mark,” she said.
But sometimes it took a little bit more than just pure tenacity for students to do well, like Abigail Carter, who said it was her faith that kept her strong through the stress of year 12, and even helped her out on career choices.
“Trust God, he has a plan for you. God told me that I should do nursing, so I’m going to serve his people as a nurse,” Abigail, who got a 94.70 ATAR, said.
Alaina Dean from James Sheahan Catholic High School, who received an ATAR of 98.20 said her advice to the upcoming year 12s was to always do their best.
“Be consistent throughout the year. Just work really hard and make sure you use your time really well.”