Students encouraged to take care of each other as countdown to results day ticks down

The countdown is almost over for thousands of year 12 VCE students eager to find out their final school results on Monday. But there’s one important message all students need to remember.

The nervous wait will be over for more than 50,000 year 12 VCE students, who will receive their final results in less than 24 hours.

After 13 years of schooling and months of study, the class of 2023 will wake up to an email at 7am on Monday containing their ATAR and study scores.

Among those feeling excited about results day is year 12 McClelland College student Mitch Przybylowski who has studied VCE subjects from year eight.

Over the course of his high school years, the 17 year old completed a total of eight VCE subjects including specialist maths, chemistry, english, business management and university-level physics in the University of Melbourne’s extension program.

Mr Przybylowski said he was eager to find out his results on Monday and hoped to get an ATAR in the 90s – well above the score needed to study his desired physics and computer science course at Monash University.

Mikayla Williamson and Mitch Przybylowski areong thousands of students who completed year 12 this year. Picture: Tony Gough

But not all students are feeling positive, with senior research fellow at Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Steven Lewis, urging school-leavers to look out for each other during this stressful time.

“It’s important we keep checking in to see if people are okay, and make sure they know they can turn to somebody if they’re not feeling particularly positive about receiving their score,” he said.

Dr Lewis said while it was okay to feel nervous, it was important for high-school graduates to remember their final results won’t define their future.

He also encouraged those who were hesitant to open their results to take their time.

“It’s very natural to feel nervous about a big test result coming out. We’re all human and we all do that,” he said.

“If you don’t do well, your life’s not over … it might mean you need to take a different pathway but at the end of the day, how you get there doesn’t really matter,” he said.

This is the case for year 12 McClelland College student Mikayla Williamson, who participated in the VCE Vocational Major (VM) pathway this year and received a Certificate IIII in fitness.

The 18 year old – who is likely to be a first-round AFLW draft pick on December 18 – chose to do VCE VM as she preferred a hands-on approach to learning and was keen to get out into the workforce.

“People say you have to go through VCE to get to university but there’s also other pathways,” she said.

Next year, Ms Williamson will do her Cert IV in fitness with Jetts Gym and said she might look into becoming a police officer in the future.

Education Minister Ben Carroll offered his congratulations to all students finishing school and thanked teachers and families for all their support.

“Whether you have completed a Vocational Major or have got your ATAR, remember this is just one step in your life journey and there are all kinds of options available to you,” he said.