Top of the class: See the 2024 SACE, ATAR duxes of South Australian schools
The academic year is finally drawing to a close and there’ll be a little extra to celebrate for these top scoring Year 12s. See the list.
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Results are in for the year 12 class of 2024 and schools have revealed students who received the top marks.
Schools have been sharing their duxes (who achieved the highest ATAR) and they have highlighted their incredible academic achievements on social media.
Here are the students who topped their schools in year 12 results.
IQRA College
Muhammad Keswanee, 99.95.
Inspired by a desire to help the Islamic community in South Australia and his aunt’s experience of giving birth in a Jordanian hospital, Muhammad Keswanee says he wants to be a doctor.
The school-leaver from IQRA College, 18, was one of 11 students in the state to achieve a perfect ATAR.
“The more I give, the more I get in return,” Muhammad said of his love of helping people.
“My aunt gave birth prematurely in Jordan.
“There, healthcare is expensive and it’s hard to get into a high quality hospital.”
He hopes to support people in similar situations and aims to start a medical degree at the University of Adelaide.
“No matter the facilities you’ve got to be there for people,” Muhammad said.
The teen, who speaks both English and Arabic, says there’s a need for Islamic health professionals.
“We’ve got different dietary requirements and there’s requirements with different genders so it’s important to have more practitioners who understand those needs,” Muhammad said.
Overall, the school leaver said year 12 was “a great learning experience”.
“I learned just as much about myself as I did about the content,” Muhammad said.
“I learned about how I deal with pressure.”
Following school each day, the Muhammed would volunteer at two Arabic language schools in Adelaide which he said gave him “a break to refresh”.
Immanuel College
Edward Mickan, 99.95.
Mitcham Girls School
Sarah Honter, 99.75.
Kildare College
Maddison Montgomery, 99.95.
Cabra Dominican College
Leilani Holland, 99.05.
Findon High School
Alborz Razaghi, 99.95.
Yankalilla Area School
Jaia Fretwell, 92.20.
Victor Harbor High School
Poppy Sweetman, 93.95.
Mount Gambier High School
Maddie Smulders, 93.35.
Millicent High School
Charlotte Fewster, 97.75.
Grant High School
Jack Leishman, 97.45.
Kings Baptist Grammar School – Wynn Vale
Evan Mewett, 99.90.
Mount Barker High School
Cooper Bowry, 97.65.
Navigator College
Rohan Kumar, 99.30.
Concordia College
Aristo Ku and Jared Sanun, both 99.95
At Concordia College, two students achieved ATARs of 99.95, making them joint-dux.
Jared Sanun and Aristo Ku capped off their secondary schooling with flawless scores.
Jared, 18, wasted no time enjoying a well-earned break on a boat on the River Murray with his friends.
“Year 12 was my favourite year of school as there was formal and the final assembly,” he said.
Jared said he maintained a balance through playing soccer and volleyball with Concordia.
The school-leaver said he hopes to study medicine at the University of Adelaide and pursue a career as a doctor because “you make a direct impact working with patients”.
Aristo, with whom Jared shared the same classes, said he and the other year 12s in his cohort spurred him on to achieve his result.
“Our whole year was very competitive and my friend group all did well,” he said.
Norwood International High School
Tuan Khang, 99.70.
Urrbrae Agricultural High School
Danny Kim, 98.95.
Pedare Christian College
Eugene Lee, 99.65.
Marryatville High School
Jake, 99.55.
Pembroke School
James Le, 99.95
Northern Adelaide Senior College
Pareena Brar, 99.90.
Prince Alfred College
Michael Cook and Jesse Rothgrew, both 99.90.
Rostrevor College
Alexander Clark, 99.00.
Saint Mark’s College Secondary Campus
Zara Pansini-Clark, 96.90.
Port Lincoln High School
Kalea Siegert, 94.65.
Westminster School
Summer Wong, 99.40
St Aloysius College
Poshika, 99.2
St Columba College
Zarah Yousefi, 98.45
Salisbury East High School
Putsoriyavong Hem, 95.95.
As one of the 33 students who received the Governor’s Commendation Award this year, Putsoriyavong Hem said her ATAR left her in disbelief.
Driven by the desire to help people, the 17-year-old Salisbury East High School student achieved an ATAR of 95.95 and tertiary entrance score of 99.90 while juggling school and working at her family’s bakery.
“I was shocked ... I thought I was going to get lower than I did,” the Paralowie local said.
“I wasn’t expecting such a high ATAR.”
Ms Hem smashed her results by scoring an ‘A’ range for all her subjects, Chemistry, Biology, Maths Methods, Physics and RP/AIF, after what she recalled as a “stressful” year.
“I originally wanted to change at the beginning of the year, but I don’t do really well with writing so I ended up keeping the subjects and it turned out to be a lot of work,” she said.
“My parents own a business so I help out. My mum had a baby this year and ended up in hospital early, so I had to take my brother to school in the mornings and pick him up.
“But we managed to make it in the end and that’s what matters.”
She says she now wants to turn her attention to becoming a teacher.
“I hope I can be someone who puts a smile on someone’s face, so I really just want to do a job that can help people, that’s why teaching is on my list.
“It’s such a rewarding job for me.”
Salisbury High School
Ritisha Dahal, 99.95.
Adelaide High School
Meena, 99.8
Loreto College
Molly Silvy, 99.45.
Cardijn College
Milo Lloyd, 98.15.
Birdwood High School
Brayden Lee, 93.6.
Tyndale Christian School
Chelsea White, 95.65.
Mary MacKillop College
Caitlyn Grech, 99.3
Tatachilla Lutheran College
Anabel Griffiths, 98.85.
Underdale High School
Tamjid Adib, 98.35.
Seymour College
Cindy Luo, 99.55.
Wilderness School
Lilianna Pourgiezis, 99.95.
St John’s Grammar School
Thomas Wollaston, 99.90.
Oakbank School
Henry G, 96.90.
St Francis de Sales College
Gabriel Cregan, 94.40.
Port Augusta Secondary School
Jobe, 91.45.
Sacred Heart College
Jaylen Atkins, 99.35.
St Ignatius College
Lawrence Yang, 99.80.
Hills Christian Community School
Arabella, 96.80.
Whyalla Secondary School
Shalini S, 99.95.
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