MOUNT Gambier High School Year 12 student Ben Dawe has attributed his impressive ATAR score to setting goals, studying hard and accessing teacher support.
Ben achieved an ATAR of 99.45, which is the top score at the high school.
Overall, the school achieved a 90pc completion rate with 13.2pc of the eligible cohort achieving an ATAR of 90 or above.
More than 26pc of the eligible cohort of students achieved an ATAR of 80 or above.
Other students who achieved a score above 90 were Chelsea Johnson, 98.75, Jasper Whitehead 97.4, Tennille Grubb, 95.4 and Kate Williams, 95.15.
Speaking with The Border Watch yesterday, Ben said he was delighted with his score and also praised the achievements of his fellow students.
While Ben planned to take a gap year, he revealed he had aspirations to possibly study medicine.
“My ATAR will help keep my options open for what course I decide to do,” Ben said.
“So far medicine is my aspiration and I have a competitive ATAR for medicine.”
Most importantly, he said he achieved goals he set at the start of the year.
“Obviously, that opens up a lot of avenues I can go down – I’m having a gap year to really think about what I want to do,” Ben explained.
“The health sector is what really interests me.”
He attributed his success to the support and dedication of teachers throughout the year.
“They were really supportive and always pointed me in the right direction and gave me the correct feedback to help me achieve my best,” Ben said.
Support from family and friends was also an important factor.
“It is a big year and you really need to have those breaks throughout the year and forget about all the stress of Year 12,” Ben said.
School principal Chris Edmonds yesterday congratulated the Year 12 cohort for their results and determination.
In particular, he said the top five scores were significantly higher than last year.
“Mount Gambier High School is proud of the achievement of the 2018 Year 12 cohort,” Mr Edmonds said.
“This reflects a commitment by staff to support students through the rigours of the year and an ongoing tradition of Mount Gambier High School students to perform at or above state achievement rates,” Mr Edmonds said.
He said the school had a fantastic well-being team to help students navigate through Year 12.
“It can be a very stressful year and I am really impressed with the hard work, persistence and effort by our students to get across the line. It is a tough gig,” Mr Edmonds said.
“While we are really proud of our top scorers, we are equally excited with that student who has gone from a C to a B or a student who wanted to give up halfway through the year,” he said.
“They are equally our best stories – those students need to be acknowledged.”
Of the 10pc of students who did not achieve Year 12, he said the school was committed to working with them as they explore future education options or move into employment.
