Beechworth Secondary College: Northeast’s top VCE performing schools

There were some great VCE results among Year 12 students in the state’s northeast. Here’s the schools which performed the best.

Beechworth Secondary College's top performing students in 2020 were (from left) Grace Rutherfurd, 84, Keeley Morrison, 91.5, Lily McPherson, 99.5, Liam McPherson, 96.75, Tiahn Barnard, 93.6.

As the school year gets ready to kick off again and another cohort of Year 12 students prepare for their final year, we take a look at which northeast Victorian schools performed the best in last year’s VCE.

In what was a challenging year for students across the country, Beechworth Secondary College managed to improve its VCE results in 2020, sitting in the top 10 most improved schools.

The college received a median VCE study score of 29, with 13.7 per cent of students scoring 40 or over on their VCEs.

Victory Lutheran College in West Wodonga and Catholic College Wodonga also received median VCE study scores of 29, with 6.1 and 3.2 per cent of students scoring 40 or over.

Beechworth Secondary College principal Patricia Broom said the results were a testament to the hard work of both the students and the teachers throughout 2020.

“It was very heartening to see the benefits for students who worked really hard and the teachers who supported them all the way through,” Ms Broom said.

“We had scores over 40 across eight or nine subjects.

“After such a big year, it was such a challenge to do that.”

Ms Broom said after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the school made the decision to prioritise their Year 12 students, which led the school to improve its VCE results in comparison to previous years.

“The number of 40s and above is significantly better and impressive,” she said.

“The students worked hard but the teachers were also there to support them.

“Getting over 40s is significant and hard work, you don’t do that easy.”

The school’s dux, Lily McPherson scored a 99.5 while her twin brother Liam was a close runner-up, scoring 97.65.

How northeast Victoria’s schools performed

Beechworth Secondary College: Median story score 29, 13.7 per cent over 40

Victory Lutheran College: Median story score 29, 6.1 per cent over 40

Catholic College Wodonga: Median story score 29, 3.2 per cent over 40

Sacred Heart College: Median story score 28, 3.4 per cent over 40

Yarrawonga College P-12: Median story score 28, 3.3 per cent over 40

Rutherglen High School: Median story score 25, 1.1 per cent over 40

Wodonga Senior Secondary College: Median story score 23, 1.1 per cent over 40