HSC results for Northern Rivers students reveal high academic achievers
The North Coast is home to some of the best and brightest young students who topped the state in their courses and others who achieved very highly. See the full list.
Lismore
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The 2021 HSC is over after a tumultuous year of Covid, lockdowns and “epic stress”. Yet in the thick of all these calamities hope shines to restore faith in what is still achievable for those who put their minds to it.
The following students are First in Course:
The following students are First in Course:
Kingscliff High School
Jadzia Wolff was recognised for equal first in the state for drama.
Tweed MP Geoff Provest said students completing the HSC in 2021 had succeeded during a challenging year, experiencing bushfires, drought and a global pandemic.
“In normal circumstances, finishing first in a HSC course is an outstanding achievement, and to do so in a year like 2021, is a credit to the dedication and talent of Jadzia Wolff of Kingscliff High,” Mr Provest said.
“Congratulations Jadzia – you family, your friends, your school and your community are very proud of you.
“Thank you to the experienced and dedicated Tweed teachers, who along with family and friends have supported and encouraged all our young people to achieve in a year like no other.”
Mount St Patrick College – Murwillumbah
Miranda Quantrill was recognised for outstanding performance in the state for music 1.
Southern Cross School of Distance Education, Ballina
Grace Frances Ashford was first in course for Indonesian Beginners.
MacKillop College Port Macquarie
Kashia McGrath topped the state in religious studies.
St Columba Anglican School – Port Macquarie
Thomas Crundwell topped the state for software design and development.
Distinguished Achievers
Distinguished Achievers lists the students who achieved a result in the highest band (Band 6 or Band E4) for one or more courses.
Byron Bay High School
Lalika Blaser from Byron Bay was a top performer in four subjects which included biology, English advanced, English extension 1 and society and culture.
“I was able to achieve a band 6 in my English advanced course and an E4 in English extension I with the consistent support from my teacher,” she said.
Ms Blaser praised her teacher’s role in her success and said it was her dedication throughout the challenging lockdowns that gave her the motivation to work towards her goals.
“Balancing an extreme school load with my social life was really challenging, but when school felt less of a chore, like my English courses, I was able to enjoy the experience of learning,” Ms Blaser said.
“I’ve always liked reading and writing, so the English courses were exciting and they gave me much more freedom than the simultaneous science courses I was doing.”
Ms Blaser said she was “extremely amazed” at the support she received throughout her final years.
“It allowed me to focus on my studies, which with my English advanced and extension results, enabled me to receive an Atar of 97.65.”
Kadina High School Lismore
Johan Van Tonder, from Lismore, achieved outstanding results in mathematics extension 1 and physics.
“I am very satisfied with my results and being able to see that my hard work has paid off,” he said.
“I’m glad that I was able to persevere with my studies with the encouragement from my teachers.”
Kyogle High School
Harrison Byrnes studied industrial technology multimedia with Southern Cross Distance Education at Ballina to achieve a Band 6 for the HSC.
He designed and created a six-minute animation, a hard copy book and poster based on a Bundjalung story of Joongurrabah – The Place Where The Pelican’s Played — using Adobe software to design and develop his project.
Harrison was told of the story through his family and felt all young Aboriginal students should learn about local stories and keep them alive for future generations.
His work was selected to be exhibited at the Powerhouse Museum this year through Shape 2021.
Harrison is proud of his achievements and hopes to inspire other Aboriginal students to develop major projects that depict Indigenous traditions and cultural histories.
Maclean High School
Ella Bowly is the distinguished achiever for Modern History and French Beginners.
“I achieved a band 6 in French and Modern History in my HSC this year,” Ms Bowly said.
“I managed to gain these marks by studying hard but also because I chose subjects I love.”
Ms Bowly said this allowed her to enjoy studying them because the content incorporated many areas of her interests.
“I’m so glad my hard work paid off, and thanks to my teachers, I had a great year,” she said.
Mullumbimby High School
Amanda Bower achieved am E4 in Extension 1 English.
“Extension 1 English was one of the most challenging of all of my subjects,” Ms Bower said.
“I had to strive in each and every class in order to tackle the complex course content.”
Ms Bower said her results were a culmination of “relentless support” from her classmates and teachers.
“With the help of my amazing teacher, Mr Clarke, I was able to expand on my skills in a range of areas such as essay writing, and, in particular, creative writing.”
She said with hours of practise she was able to achieve an incredible result in Extension 1 English that reflected a year of hard work and effort.
Woodenbong Central School
Tabitha Leonard of Woodenbong achieved outstanding results in ancient history and mathematics standard 2.
“It was a bit of a shock to find out that I’d achieved a band 6 in both standard 2 maths and ancient history, especially because the HSC seems so distant now, and the end of last year so fragmented,” Ms Leonard said.
Ms Leonard said her last year of schooling was “immensely trying”.
She citied the universal stresses of Covid and also supporting her mum through cancer treatment.
She also sustained hand injuries right before her exams and was struggling to write.
“I needed provisions organised a few days before exams but I did my best to maintain consistency in focus, and I know that the resilience and effort needed to make it has paid off,” she said.
Ms Leonard said that despite everything she was glad to have had a supportive family and school environment, a space of her own to focus on study, and the encouragement of friends and teachers that sustained her.
“Although it seems so separate from the events of the past year, finally finding out results has been a huge relief, and I’m super proud of the end result of my HSC year,” Ms Leonard said.
A full list of NSW Education standards authority’s HSC merit awards are available here.
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