International Baccalaureate (IB) results 2024: Adelaide’s top students celebrate world class marks
SACE isn’t the only way to the university course or career of your dreams. Meet SA’s top IB graduates.
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The high performing International Baccalaureate (IB) students from top South Australian schools have gathered in Adelaide to celebrate their results.
The top students were present at Glenunga International High School to honour their results on Wednesday, and scored as highly as a perfect score of 45 while others also scored 44.
In 2024, there were 341 students to complete the program, which represented a 7.4 per cent increase on last year’s results.
The IB program is described as “a highly respected by global leading universities and aims to develop students who have strong academic, social and emotional characteristics”.
There are 10 schools in South Australia which offer the IB program including Pembroke School, St Peter’s Girls’ School and Unley High School.
IB scores are converted locally to an ATAR-like value.
According to the IB Schools Australasia website, an IB score of 45 translates to ATAR of 99.95 while a score of 35 is equivalent to 90.25.
Unley High School: Elian Viteri and Chamu Amaratunga
Elian Viteri, 18, was born in Ecuador and experienced civil unrest there before coming to Adelaide five years ago.
“It’s not as developed there and there was martial law at one point,” Elian said.
“There were a lot of protests that got violent.
“I was scared but I knew I was moving to Australia.”
Since then, he developed a love of international relations and hopes to be a diplomat.
“I’m interested in the relationships between countries,” the teen said.
The graduate scored 36 in his IB studies and said the key to his success was using cue cards to memorise concepts.
Elian will take a gap year in 2025 to travel around the world before studying politics and international relations at ANU in Canberra.
Fellow student from Unley High, Chamu Amaratunga, 18, came to Adelaide from Sri Lanka last year without being “confident in speaking English”.
Chamu’s first language was Sinhala and he started learning English from the age of 8, but said it was initially difficult to connect with people in his new home.
And next year will be a challenge as the school leavers hopes his IB score of 41 will win him a scholarship for university.
“As an international student going to uni will be expensive so I’ve been working hard to get a scholarship,” Chamu said.
Overall he said his school year was a positive experience due to “very helpful teachers”.
The teen hopes to study chemical engineering next year.
Pembroke School: Enoch Osei-Tutu, Phoebe MacLaren and Luca Shin
Enoch Osei-Tutu, 18, from Pembroke School scored a perfect 45 result in his IB.
Originally from Ghana, Enoch moved to Australia at four-years-old.
He said his final year of secondary education was “stressful and intense” as the school leader balanced being captain of Pembroke with school and basketball.
“Sometimes I felt pressured into being the best version of myself at all times but you need a break,” Enoch said.
“The teachers at Pembroke helped with that.”
He hopes study medicine at university next year, like his father, who is a doctor.
Enoch’s plan is to initially study at the University of Adelaide before spending time in the US
at Stanford University or Berkeley in California.
Phoebe MacLaren, 18, was climbing metaphorical mountains in her studies and physical ones with her love of rock climbing.
The student scored 44 and said rock climbing “is good for de-stressing”.
“I focus on that and nothing else and I get a quick boost every time I finish a challenge,” Phoebe said.
In 2025 she will take a gap year “to think about what I’ll do after school”, but she is thinking of studying medicine.
Luca Shin finished school a year early at the age of 16.
The student, who scored 44, skipped year 2 in primary school as “the teacher and the school thought it was a good decision”.
“I’ve really enjoyed my schooling and there’s such a strong sense of community in Pembroke’s IB program,” the teen said.
But Luca said he had to prepare for multiple big moments at the end of the school year.
“A few weeks before my final exam I was playing violin as a soloist in the school orchestra,” he said.
“I was nervous about playing in front of a crowd but people around me supported me.”
Next year he hopes to study medicine at The University of Adelaide as “it’s a really powerful thing that doctors can use their knowledge to help save people’s lives”.
Glenunga International High School: Amullya Madaan and William Han
Glenunga International High School student Amullya Madaan, 17, scored 44 and said her family and friends supported her when she was studying five hours a night.
“Year 12 was quite stressful because IB challenges you as a learner but my teachers and parents were really supportive,” she said.
Next year, the graduate hopes to study medicine as “every year visiting the GP I feel so empowered knowing how to care for myself”.
William Han, 16, said success “boils down to being consistent”.
“You have to do bits and pieces regularly so you don’t forget things,” the teen said.
William, who scored a near perfect 43, said he was happy with his result but “there are a few regrets because I could have had a better score”.
The biggest challenge during 2024 for the school leaver was managing his time between studying, chess and volunteering.
Next year he will study either medicine or law because “they are quite broad fields and there are many options available”.
St Peter’s Girls School: Neya Titus and Amy Dillon
St Peter’s Girls’ School graduate Neya Titus “is just glad it’s over” after a stressful year.
Neya, 17, scored 40 and said “there was a lot of pressure waiting to the end of the year”.
But she used drumming in a band as an outlet in between studying five hours a night.
“It was a hard year but still good,” the teen said.
“I just tried my best and just saw how I went.”
Next year she hopes to study law at The University of Adelaide which will allow her to pursue a career as a medical malpractice lawyer.
“I want to do it because you can help people,” Neya said.
Her peer at St Peter’s Girls’ Amy Dillon, 18, said the year was “busier than I expected”.
The school leaver, who scored 41, was “initially freaked out by exams counting for so much”.
Across three exams in each subject she took, the tests count for about 80 per cent.
“But everything you learn along the way does help,” Amy said.
During year 12 she balanced her studies with working at Haigh’s Chocolates.
Next year the teen hopes to study occupational therapy at UniSA as she’s looking for “a career that’s a little more hands on”.
Prince Alfred College: Caleb Tang, Nathan Thomas, Samuel Remeljej
Prince Alfred College students Caleb Tang, Nathan Thomas and Samuel Remeljej all scored nearly flawless results.
Caleb, 17, scored 44 and said his year was “just about enjoying the process”.
“I kept really organised and my teachers told me to set ‘soft lines’ which are deadlines before the deadline,” the school leaver said.
“I found all the content really interesting and I learned a lot from it.”
He hopes to study medicine next year as Caleb “loves the intricacy and the complexity of the human body”.
![]Samuel Remeljej, Prince Alfred College. Picture Brett Hartwig](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/c45459e2fb0dae8902d7913c8b5cb1f3?width=650)
Nathan, 17, said the key to his success with a score of 43, was “being consistent with my work outside of what’s expected and checking in with how I’m going throughout the year”.
“It was hard to stick to the plan,” the teen said.
Like Caleb, he also hopes to study medicine next year as “it helps others and also fulfils me”.
Samuel, 17, scored 43 too and credited the result with having good teachers.
“I had a big sprint at the end with assessment and exam revision,” Samuel said.
During this time, he described studying “from when I woke up to when I went to sleep”.
In 2025 the teen hopes to study finance as “it’s interesting how the underlying things work”.
St Peter’s College: Henry Zhau and Siyu Cai
St Peter’s College students Henry Zhao and Siyu Cai were also among the top IB performers.
Henry, 18, came from China to Adelaide two years ago and said studying in English was “at first uncomfortable because I wasn’t familiar with it”.
The student, whose first language is Mandarin, scored 40.
“It’s pretty challenging and it’s probably harder than those who speak English as their first language,” the teen said.
Next year he hopes to study pharmaceutical science at Monash University in Melbourne.
“I’m not good at other subjects but I’m good at biology and chemistry,” said Henry of his career path.
Siyu also came from China but at the age of 3 and said the key to doing well is focusing on weaknesses.
The student said he achieved a 43 result because he focused on difficult subjects for him including English, French and economics.
“You need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses,” Siyu, 18, said.
During year 12 he balanced his time between school, debating, chess, badminton and playing the double bass.
“I like music and it introduced me to friends across year levels,” the graduate said.
Next year he hopes to study engineering at UNSW as he “likes making things”.
“It’s good to have the chance to explore my own creativity,” Siyu said.
Mercedes College: Marcus Quarisa
The 18 year old said achieving a score of 39 was about “a lot of dedication”.
“The IB is very rigorous as when you get home it’s straight to homework,” Marcus said.
But he balanced his year with playing volleyball and table tennis with friends.
“They gave me a good break and a chance to hang out with my friends when it doesn’t feel like I should be studying,” the student said.
Next year, the graduate hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps by studying engineering.
“He can help me out and school has prepared me well for it (university),” he said.
Roma Mitchell Secondary College
Annmaria Jins, 17, and Adelina Mulyana, 18, came away with scores of 32 and 31.
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