NATASHA Hewitt said she was “really happy but quite surprised” to learn she’d achieved Orange’s highest ATAR score of 99.25 in this year’s Higher School Certificate.
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“I worked hard but you can’t expect a result like that,” Ms Hewitt said.
The former James Sheahan Catholic High School student said in the lead-up to the HSC she made sure she struck a good balance between her study commitments and her recreational activities, including exercising, attending church and playing the flute.
Ms Hewitt said she’d advise next year’s HSC students to try and be smart about how they managed their study time.
“Use it wisely,” she said.
“Pick subjects you enjoy and don’t let the HSC consume you.”
Ms Hewitt achieved exam marks of 90 per cent or more in English, advanced mathematics, music 2, music extension and studies of religion II.
She credits her teachers at Bletchington Public School, Canobolas Rural Technology High School, where she completed year 7, and James Sheahan for contributing to her outstanding result.
“The teachers I had were dedicated to their students and passionate about the subjects they taught,” she said
Ms Hewitt’s father Tim said he and his wife Michelle were proud of their daughter’s achievement and were “pleasantly surprised” by her outstanding result.
“It’s a testament to all the hard work she’s done over the last couple of years,” Mr Hewitt said.
He too thanked the “excellent teachers who have inspired her” and her great friends who had been “supportive and caring”.
Next year Ms Hewitt plans to study for an honours degree in psychology at Macquarie University and hopes to become a practising psychologist.
