The Adelaide teens with world-class school results: our state’s top IB students are revealed

The results are in and Adelaide can boast a cohort of school leavers who’ve proven they can ‘compete with anybody anywhere’. Meet the state’s highest IB achievers.

Pippa Hansen (Norwood), Inuka Amaratunga (Unley) and Pembroke School’s Charles Newbold, Everett Webb and Elsie Holland. Picture: Dean Martin

The state’s top-performing International Baccalaureate (IB) students have gathered in Adelaide to celebrate their year 12 success which rivals the achievements of the brightest school-leavers anywhere in the world.

Several achieved a near-perfect score of 44 out of 45 while two Adelaide schools were represented at the annual celebration for the first time.

The IB program is described as an“academically challenging pre-university matriculation course” and is offered in 150 countries around the globe – and about a dozen schools in Adelaide.

Recognised globally, 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 91.50.

It was fitting the event was hosted by Pembroke School which has offered the internationally-recognised final years school program in addition to the regular SACE curriculum at its Kensington Park campus since 1989, when it was first offered in Adelaide.

School principal Mark Staker said his school remained committed to the program which several other major independent schools including all-girls’ Walford Anglican School and Seymour College as well as coeducational Woodcroft College, have recently dropped. while all-boys St Peter’s College won’t offer it in 2024.

“Our IB program is Adelaide and South Australia’s oldest and I am proud of the heritage involved in it … but also the fact it honours a global and international curriculum and opens doors to young people all around the world,” he said.

“We are strongly committed to the International Baccalaureate and everything that it stands for in terms of the vision for peacemaking and international mindedness … as holistic learners, IB Diploma graduates exhibit resilience, adaptability and a commitment to lifelong learning, making them highly prepared for tertiary studies and the challenges of a rapidly changing and interconnected world.”

Pembroke Principal Mark Staker is pictured with some of the best performing IB students from his school Charles Newbold, Everett Webb and Elsie Holland. Picture: Dean Martin

Unley and Norwood International High finish first IB year

In 2023, both Unley High School and Norwood International High School toasted its first ever IB graduates.

Unley High School assistant principal Karmen Petric said it had been rewarding to watch the growth of the students at her school who’d chosen to do the IB program, both from an academic and personal perspective.

“It is extremely exciting to celebrate our inaugural cohort … to see them grow and develop over the past two years, not just in terms of learning a subject’s content but also in developing as human beings; they’ve been involved in community projects and been able to further develop their understanding of global citizenship issues,” she said.

Six Unley High students completed the diploma in its inaugural year with 11 enrolled for 2024, she said.

Among the school’s top achievers was Inuka Amaratunga who attained a score of 39.

“I initially chose to do the IB program because I wanted to travel overseas … but I realised as I started to go along it was an excellent way to train time management skills,” he said.

The 18-year-old now plans to head interstate to study electronic engineering at the University of NSW.

Norwood’s Pippa Hansen achieves her school’s top score

Norwood’s Pippa Hansen, 18, who achieved a score of 35, said she was proud to be among a small trailblazing cohort at her school.

“It was obviously daunting (being part of the first cohort) as you don’t have anyone else to talk to … but it was just a really, really good experience, we built close relationships with our peers and got great support from our teachers,” she said, adding she hadn’t yet decided what she would do next.

International Baccalaureate trailblazers … Pippa Hansen and Inuka Amaratunga are among the inaugural cohort of IB students at their schools, Norwood and Unley high schools respectively. Picture Dean Martin

Glenunga International High School tops the high achievers list again

Students from Glenunga International High School regularly top the list of high achievers with 2023 being no different.

Cynthia Zhao and Sam Feng each scored 44 – equivalent to an ATAR of 99.70 – with Cythia hoping to study medicine and Sam looking to do a combined mathematics and economics degree.

Corin Bone, the schools IB leader, said 54 students completed the program at his school in 2023 with 24 incorporating at least one IB subject into their SACE course.

“I am amazingly proud of all the students … the IB has increased the challenge level significantly this year and they have been up for the challenge and have come through with some fantastic results that would compete with anybody anywhere,” he said.

Glenunga IB leader Corin Bone with two of his school’s highest achievers, Cynthia Zhao and Sam Feng, who both scored 44 of a possible 45. Picture: Dean Martin

Pembroke posts impressive results

Pembroke’s Marco Jin also achieved 44 while Canadian-born classmate Everett Webb attained a score of 43.

Everett, 18, who arrived with his family in Adelaide in 2020 during Covid, after living for several years in Chili, said the flexibility of IB and potential to use it for entry to universities around the world appealed to him.

“I have chosen to go here – to Adelaide Uni to study commerce – but I enjoyed the … international mindedness of the IB,” he said.

Five students at Prince Alfred College achieve a score of 40 or higher

Five students at Prince Alfred College achieved a score of 40 or higher with Tianyu Sun attaining 44.

“We will follow with interest their paths post school … we know that the students who study the IB go on to do interesting things and have great success at university,” headmaster David Roberts said.

St Peter’s Girls Genevieve Long scores 42

St Peter’s Girls’ school-leaver Genevieve Leong, who achieved a score of 42, said she enjoyed the global aspect of the program, initially planning to study overseas.

“It helps you develop a better understanding of everything … for example, I did global politics which was eye-opening,” she said.