Brighton Secondary School teacher Kirsty Raymond shares an important message for year 12s – your ATAR doesn’t define you
Experienced teacher Kirsty Raymond has an important reality check for year 12s fretting about their future as final exams loom.
Every teacher wants their students to succeed at school, especially in the high-stakes arena of year 12 exams and assignments.
But more than that, they want to see them succeed in life beyond the classroom too.
And the good news, according to longtime teacher Kirsty Raymond, is your ATAR does not define you.
“I’ve known some students who have got what they have thought to be a really poor ATAR and have gone on to become very successful adults,” Mrs Raymond said.
“I think it’s more about who you are as a person and what sort of attributes you have to be successful in life, rather than the number that you get at the end of the year.”
Mrs Raymond said in her 22 years in the profession she has not heard from a student who “hadn’t achieved something”.
“Many former students have gone on to do things often quite different to what they thought they were going to achieve when in year 12, but they always seem to come out okay,” she said.
The humanities teacher at Brighton Secondary School in Adelaide said the focus of career conversations has changed in her time.
“If they’re working towards getting the best ATAR they can achieve, then I try encourage that and I try give them confidence around that,” she said.
“But there’s a lot of examples of students in the past who have got into something that they’ve been really desperate and passionate about even without that ATAR.”
She said there are multiple pathways into the courses and careers students wish to pursue, adding that was something their “more ATAR-focused” parents’ generation were often unaware of.
The veteran teacher said the aspirations of high-achieving students also needed attention as they often felt pressured to study prestigious fields such as law, medicine or engineering.
“It doesn’t always sit with what they love and want to spend their life doing,” she said.
Mrs Raymond said the best students were the ones who were resilient and worked hard, even if academic achievement did not come easily to them.
Students who struck a balance between work and play were more likely to succeed, she said, urging Year 12s to play sport, work part-time jobs and spend time with family and friends.
“They also have the best time on the journey because they get a lot out of schooling rather than just being so focused on a number on a page, which is not the only thing of value that we can give to students,” she said.
One of her students, Ziah Case, 17, wants to study international relations and “eventually work for the United Nations”.
“You have to keep telling yourself (your) ATAR isn’t going to be your biggest accomplishment in life,” she said.
“I’m sure that I can do aid work through volunteering opportunities and work my way up from there without an ATAR.”
Fellow student Raphe Thomas, 17, said his future had options beyond an ATAR.
“I used to feel really pressured to do well because many people would have expectations of me, but I don’t need a high ATAR,” he said.
“Going into TAFE and becoming a sparky is an option I have that doesn’t need an ATAR.”
Did you succeed post-school without the score you were aiming for? Comment below or share your story with us at education@news.com.au
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