Mosman collar bomb victim Madeleine Pulver makes HSC Merit list in Advanced English as suspect faces court
ELATED Madeleine Pulver has come out with "an incredible" HSC result as collar bomb suspect makes first court appearance.
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AN elated Madeleine Pulver has beaten the odds and come out with "an incredible" HSC result, as the man accused of putting a fake collar bomb around her neck makes his first court appearance.
Ms Pulver sat her exams just three months after a hoax bomb was strapped to her for more than ten hours in her Mosman home on August 3.
Paul Douglas Peters, 50, wore prison greens and showed no emotion when he appeared on the videolink from Parklea jail in Sydney's Central Local Court.
The finance executive is accused of attaching a fake collar bomb around Ms Pulver's neck, and his matter was mentioned only briefly in court ahead of his next hearing in March.
His lawyer Kathy Crittenden asked Magistrate John Favretto for an extended timetable to examine what is understood to be a lengthy brief of police evidence.
Peters has been charged with kidnapping, special aggravated break and enter, committing a serious indictable offence and demanding property with intent to steal.
Peters did not say anything during the hearing. Bail was not applied for and it was formally refused.
The 18-year-old Wenona Girls' School student made the HSC Distinguished Achievers list for scoring a Band 6 score of more than 90 in Advanced English, a feat which she thought never possible after her alleged collar bomb ordeal in August.
Just moments after learning her ATAR ranking at home this morning, Maddie said she was "absolutely delighted" with her result.
"I'm very pleasantly surprised," a beaming Maddie said.
With her parents Bill and Belinda beside her, the trio could barely wipe the smiles from their faces.
"We are ecstatic," Mr Pulver said.
"When she logged on and we saw that mark, it exceeded our expectations by a big, big margin."
Maddie said her school, Wenona on Sydney's north shore, was a driving force in keeping her focused on her studies.
"My teachers were amazing, I couldn't have done it without them," she said.
She now plans to take a year off to work and then travel, before starting at university in 2013.
"I'm looking forward to the break," she said.
A total of 16,420 students made the HSC Distinguished Achievers list this year, which was released by the NSW Board of Studies on today.Meanwhile, Cheltenham Girls High School student Brenda Lin, whose parents and two brothers were bludgeoned to death in their North Epping home in 2009 has also made the merit list for 2 unit Business Studies and Information Processes and Technology.