Year 12s, know this: exam results aren’t everything

Dismal high school results are no barrier to a great career. Just look at the people featured in Fiona Harari’s story.

To the many Year 12 students around the country worrying about their upcoming exams, we have a story for you: three cases illustrating that dismal high school results do not spell the end of a rich, professional life.

We should know this, of course. Students are repeatedly told of alternative pathways but that doesn’t seem to ease the pressure many feel to achieve a high score. Our three case studies lean towards the extreme end of early failure and late success but one message, from the ACT’s top lawyer Shane Drumgold, should resonate: “You think your feet are set in concrete at 17 or 18,” he says. “It takes two things to do well. It takes a bit of ability. But it also takes a whole lot of grit.”