Results out for International Baccalaureate students

THE only public school offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma produced the only student with a perfect score — and she’s only 16.

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THE only public school offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma produced the only student with a perfect score – and she’s only 16.

Of the 245 students who completed the diploma last year, Glenunga International High School graduate Dangyi (Donna) Peng was the sole achiever of a 45/45 score.

The aspiring doctor was part of Glenunga’s Ignite program, which accelerates students through Years 8-10 in two years and enabled her to finish high school in four years.

A pianist and self-taught violist who likes to bake, sculpt and play tennis, Donna says there’s almost no topic in which she can’t find interest.

“Once you know how to learn, everything becomes interesting because you know that after you face that initial challenge … you’ll start to get a sense of how to do it,” she says, putting her study success down to prioritising conceptual learning over memorising.

“I stay away from cramming because all you will do is hurt your head.”

Seated: Isaac Tennant, Donna Peng and Varvara Vassilieva; back, Anthony Rositano, Douglas Gerard, Will Allan, Samantha Brookman, Emily Murdock, Natasha Davey, Ariane Dorotich and Isabella Sandery. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Donna studied physics, chemistry, economics, maths, Chinese and English, and now hopes to head interstate for a medical degree, ideally at Monash in Melbourne.

Prince Alfred College’s Anthony Rositano, 18, scored 44/45 and is off to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

The tenor saxophonist is aiming for a career combining performing and teaching.

“Maybe (I could be) a session musician and play in some albums, mostly jazz but I could do pop as well, and tour with some artists,” he says.

Anthony woke at 4.30am each morning to study for two hours before school without fear of distraction. “My friends aren’t on Messenger at that time so there’s no one to text and no one to text me. That was a big factor,” he says.

An alternative to the SACE, the IB is recognised around the world.

St Peter’s Girls graduate Emily Murdock, 18, has a science and engineering scholarship to the University of Sydney but is pinning her hopes on acceptance to a major US college.

“MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) would be the big one. It would be a dream,” she says.