De La Salle twins ready for VCE English exam which marks start of final chapter for Class of 2025
Five sets of twins from De La Salle College will be among more than 47,000 Victorian Year 12 students sitting the all-important English test on Tuesday, getting the ball rolling on the 2025 VCE exam season. Here’s how it will play out.
Thousands of Year 12 students are a step closer to closing the book on 13 years of schooling, with Tuesday’s three-hour English test kicking off the 2025 exam season.
More than 92,000 students will sit at least one exam in the next three weeks, at one of 580 examination centres across Victoria.
Bendigo Senior Secondary College will once again be home to the state’s largest cohort of exam participants, with 1037 students sitting exams at the school, while Cann River P-12 College is the state’s smallest examination centre with three pupils.
From 9am on Tuesday, more than 47,000 students will sit the highly-anticipated English exam, while another 3000 pupils will complete their English as an Additional Language test.
A total of 110 VCE written exams will be conducted before November 19, with verbal exams already complete for most students undertaking one of 42 languages.
The nervous wait for ATAR release day will then begin, with study scores and students’ final rankings to be released on December 11.
As exam season gets underway, students say they’re feeling both nervous and excited as they enter the final phase of their schooling – and for five sets of twins at De La Salle College in Malvern, they get to close this final chapter alongside their sibling.
Twin brothers Max and Xavier Jones said they are approaching the exam season with a positive attitude after completing several practice tests and studying together.
“I feel quietly confident for exams. I have studied quite hard and intend to continue to do so, plus I have great teachers that continue to help me prepare,” Max said.
His brother Xavier added: “I am feeling good heading into exams, a bit nervous but I think that’s normal”.
The boys both want to go to university after they finish school, with Max hoping to pursue a law degree while Xavier wants to study biomedicine.
Meanwhile, eager 18-year-old twin brothers Zach and Anthony Sidiropoulos have studied together every day in the lead up to exams, with the pair both sitting the English exam on Tuesday.
“VCE with my twin is very good, we are able to work with each other and bounce ideas off each other,” Anthony said.
“It is very helpful especially when I need another opinion on my work, he is able to read over it and give me feedback.”
De La Salle College deputy principal Robert Bonnici said he was immensely proud of all the Year 12 cohort had achieved this year and wished them every success going forward.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to watch this Year 12 cohort grow into confident, capable and compassionate young men,” he said.
“What stands out most is their diversity. Although we had been blessed to have such an extraordinary number of twins in this year’s cohort, each student has found his own pathway, guided by his individual strengths, interests and passions.”
Education Minister Ben Carroll wished students the best of luck ahead of the exam and thanked the school staff who have supported them “through to (their) very own Grand Final”.
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority chief Andrew Smith added the exam body was focused on providing “all students with an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout their schooling”.
This year marks the first time Mr Smith will oversee the exam period as VCAA chief, after he was appointed following the fall out from last year’s VCE exam leak scandal, first revealed by the Herald Sun.
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Originally published as De La Salle twins ready for VCE English exam which marks start of final chapter for Class of 2025
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