Students take charge of own education

TOP STUDENT: Meridian School Year 12 student Dwayne Devenish achieved the third highest ATAR score in Mount Gambier with 98.05.

THE sky is the limit for Meridian School Year 12 student Dwayne Devenish after receiving an outstanding Australian Tertiary Admission Rank score of 98.05 this week.

Studying economics, modern history, general mathematics, English and a certificate four in accounting, the inspiring young man was thrilled to receive the third highest score in the Blue Lake city.

“It was definitely a surprise, I did set myself a pretty high target at the start of the year though, which I fortunately achieved plus a little bit more,” he said.

Dealing well with the stresses of his final year of high school, Mr Devenish said he could not have done it without the support of those around him.

“Obviously there is a certain amount of stress in Year 12 as it is your last chance to prove yourself at school and your teachers generally put you under the pump to get you there,” he said.

“However, our teachers at Meridian School prepared us very well in previous year levels, so the work load was not too much of a shock this year.

“I also found it beneficial to keep a good balance of work versus leisure activities during the year to help keep things in perspective.”

Planning to study a number of tertiary business courses over the next couple of years, Mr Devenish said he feels ready to tackle the next stage of life.

“The support of Meridian School and the teachers was amazing over the whole year and played a massive part in anything I was able to achieve,” he said.

“Their modern teaching framework, known as self directed learning, allowed me and my classmates the flexibility to move at our own pace and really prioritise our time.

“I feel like I am graduating with having developed vital academic and non-academic skills to ready me for the work place.

“So, full credit to our teachers and the school.”