VCE results: How class of 2021 measures up

VCE results data from the class of 2021 reveals the true toll two years of remote learning has had on Victorian students.

Albert Park College students Isabella Noble, Rohan Jain, Bonnie Sheppard and Max Crandall. The college had a median VCE score of 30 with 9 per cent of students achieving a study score of 40 or higher. Picture: Sarah Matray

Two tough years have taken their toll on school results, with the state’s top schools failing to meet their 2020 academic heights.

In 2021, seven Victorian schools shared top billing as the best in the state with a median VCE study score of 37 out of 50, down from 38 last year.

The list includes six private colleges, along with The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School.

Consistently a top performer, Haileybury Girls College had the highest percentage of study scores of 40 or above on 37.2 per cent.

Last year three schools had percentages higher than this.

Huge gains have been made by non-selective state schools, including Apollo Bay P-12 College, Ashwood High School and Wycheproof P-12 College, which have a median score of 33.

East Loddon P-12 College, 200km northwest of Melbourne in Dingee with a population of 206, once again beat some of the state’s best private schools posting a median score of 33.

Year 12 students at East Loddon P-12 College celebrate in style at the East Loddon Woolshed. The Dingee school posted a median score of 33, better than many of Victoria’s top private institutions.

Senior Sub School Leader Sarah Byrne said many students had to contend with home schooling made more difficult by poor internet connections and the need to help out on the family farms.

“It was challenging for our students and everyone else too but they kept on pushing,” she said.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them; they’ve done an amazing job.”

These state schools are on par with pricey city private campuses such as Camberwell Grammar, Xavier College, Ivanhoe Grammar and The Knox School.

Three schools – Bialik College, Mount Scopus Memorial College and Ballarat Clarendon College – got a median study score of 38 in 2020, but no school got above 37 in 2021.

All three schools also posted lower percentages of scores over 40 compared to last year.

Bialik got a median VCE score of 32.6 in 2021 compared to 39.9 in 2020, Mount Scopus Memorial College got 31.9 down from 39.7 in 2020 and Ballarat Clarendon College had 38.4 per cent of students with a median study score of 40 and over in 2020 but only 32.5 in 2021.

Mount Scopus Rabbi James Kennard said the school was “immensely proud of our students’ achievement”.

“They had a very tough time over the last two years, but have produced great results nevertheless,” he said.

Private girls’ colleges make up six of the 10 schools getting a median study score of 36.

Many of these schools managed to hold their scores despite eight months of home schooling over the past two years.

A number of these schools also increased their percentage of scores of 40 or above significantly compared to 2020, including St Catherine’s School, Lauriston Girls’ School and Presbyterian Ladies College.

Of the 17 schools getting 36 or 37 as a median study score, seven stayed the same, four went down and six improved.

Of the 10 top schools with the most scores of 40 and over, six went up, three went down and one stayed the same.

Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals president Colin Axup said students felt elation and disappointment when they received their VCE results.

”The pandemic has been a storm that all year 12 students have battled over the past two years, however, they have all been in different boats and have felt the effects of the pandemic differently,” he said. 

“Completing the VCE is an achievement, regardless if the outcome was the one that was, or wasn’t, desired.”

Ballarat Clarendon Grammar principal David Shepherd said the school was “exceptionally proud of our year 12 students”.

“Over these past two years of turbulence, these kids have been courageous and resilient,” he said.

Bialik College principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner said his non-selective school had a “remarkable record of consistently high achievement”.

“I am incredibly proud of all our students and their dedicated teachers, especially this year’s cohort, who have completed their VCE years in and out of lockdowns,” he said.

Behind every single study score is an individual story of endurance, resilience and achievement.

One of these belongs to Georgia Wedding, of Emmanuel College’s Point Cook Campus, who obtained an ATAR score of 92.30, placing her in the top 10 per cent of the state.

Emmanuel College student Georgia Wedding has hopes of being an aeronautical engineer. Picture: David Crosling

“I’m looking at a Bachelor of Science at Melbourne University followed by a Masters of Aerospace Engineering,” Georgia said.

“I’ve always thought airplanes were awesome so I knew I wanted to do something with them. I didn’t want to be a pilot but I thought designing them would be a good fit for me.”

Georgia, who studied Maths Methods, Chemistry and Physics, as well as English and Italian, said she was excited to join the incredible women already working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).

She said the support of her teachers helped the senior students get through the past two years.

“Everyone struggled with online learning but a lot of my teachers had very interactive lessons where we’d talk in breakout groups on Zoom and we worked together,” she said.

“The teachers learnt from the experience of losing classroom discussion last year,” she said.