Victorian students set to find out university admission state after rollercoaster Year 12

Countless Victorian Year 12 students are waiting to learn the impact of a rollercoaster year on their final scores — as university admissions are set to be released.

Thousands of anxious VCE students are still sitting tight and waiting to learn the impact of a rollercoaster year on their final scores.

From 7.00am on December 30, the class of 2020 will receive their Australia Tertiary Admission Ranking (ATAR) scores, revealing the true toll rallying between in-class and home learning throughout two statewide lockdowns took on their marks.

The pandemic has blown out the cohort’s wait time by more than two extra weeks than students in previous years, with final marks released on December 12 in 2019.

Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals President Sue Bell said every student in the state had become disadvantaged by the whirlwind transition to home learning amid uncertainty of when face-to-face-learning would resume.

“Everybody was in this difficult situation together,” Ms Bell said.

“They (the students) have had everything thrown at them this year,” she said.

“They have had to find their own motivation.”

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority this year introduced a ‘Consideration of Educational Disadvantage’ evaluation, a more wide-reaching scoring process that accounted for the disruptions caused to every students’ studies by COVID-19.

Impacts on a student’s learning throughout their VCE have been evaluated individually in previous years.

Mia Canny, who completed Year 12 at Belgrave Heights Christian School, awaits her ATAR score due out on 30 December. Picture: Ian Currie

Despite a “bumpy ride” which dashed hopes of hosting landmark events such as Year 12 formals, sports carnivals and valedictory dinners, this year’s cohort have “done an amazing job”, Ms Bell said.

“They have missed milestone events that give people the relief and the motivation to keep going,” she said.

“Everybody has been so blown away by the effort they have put in.”

Year 12 graduate Mia Canny who attended Belgrave Heights Christian School said she is impatiently waiting to learn whether her ATAR both reflected COVID’s impact on her learning and her hard work throughout the year after struggling to stay motivated at home.

“Year 12 this year was challenging, unprecedented and unmatched to my expectations of what my final year of school would be,” Mia said.

“I found learning from home the most difficult, as it was hard to separate school from home being in the same space,” she said.

“I also really struggled with having the motivation to keep going in year 12, as it felt as though there was no light at the end of the tunnel.”

Mia said she still hopes she achieves the scores she needs to study Business and Law at the Australian Catholic University in 2021, which requires a minimum score of 25 in English.

“I hope that COVID has not affected this,” she said.

Ms Bell said: “students have worked incredibly hard”.

“They should be proud of what they have achieved,” she said.

More than 49,000 Victorians students completed their VCE in 2019, with 14,217 students receiving a study score above 40 for their subjects.

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