Charlotte Varcoe
REPRESENTING a record, 15,644 students across the State completed their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) this year.
In the South East, Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) scores remained high for yet another year with St Martin’s Lutheran College student Agnes Doyle taking out the top spot.
Agnes received 97.85 and said she wished to continue studying to become a doctor following a gap year.
Closely following Agnes at the college was Jemima Puust who received 97.45 and Drew Baker with 90.35.
Mount Gambier High School’s highest scoring student was Sarah Dally with 97.30.
Other high scorers at Mount Gambier High were Alana Menzel with 96.95 and Angel Aguinaldo with 96.45.
Ms Dally said she was shocked to see her score on Monday morning and was pleased with the results.
“I am very happy with my results, it has been a big year but now I am looking forward to having a gap year and travelling between Mount Gambier and Adelaide for training,” Ms Dally said.
“I have a traineeship here at Mount Gambier High School doing the health and physical education position.
“As for university, I have applied to do a double degree in psychology and sport.”
Grant High School’s highest scoring student and second highest for the South East was Angus Langsmith with 97.55.
“I was in the car when I received a call from the school,” Mr Langsmith said.
“They told me my results and I was shocked, I did pretty well throughout the year but didn’t think I would get this high.”
As for the future, Mr Langsmith said he would continue his traineeship with Water Solve Irrigation throughout his gap year before attending Adelaide University to study agricultural science.
“I have been looking forward to going to university, getting out and trying something different,” he said.
Other Grant students who scored highly included Rachael Kelly with 95.2 and Wil Scanlon with 94.9.
Tenison Woods College had eight students who scored over 90.
Highest of them was Tess Wight with 95.45 who said receiving the top score was not something she had expected at all.
“I went into this year doing my best and receiving the top score was a nice way of having my efforts recognised,” Ms Wight said.
“I moved up to Adelaide soon after exams with my brother and am hoping to get into Flinders University.
“I had medicine as my first preference but that can be hard to get into so I might have to get into my second preference which is paramedicine.
“I would be happy either way.”
Other Tenison Woods students who scored in the 90’s were Lachlan Clements with 95, Hayley Pearson with 94.40, Mykaela Thiele with 94.30, Alice Circelli with 94.15, Rajvi Purswani with 92.75, Charlotte Oliver with 92.35, and Isabella Kenny with 92.20.
Millicent High School’s top scorer was Jemma Hayward with 81.8.
“I was happy because it was higher than a guaranteed entry into nursing,” Jemma said.
“I was very surprised, it was a good morning.”
While Ms Hayward will be beginning her studies in nursing next year, pursuing midwifery is the long-term plan.
“I have wanted to be a midwife since I was in year eight,” she said.
“But the ATAR to get in is really high, so I will make a start in nursing first.”
Kingston Community School student William Edwards received a high score of just below 95.
Bordertown High School student Lili Jaensch also received between 90-95.
Naracoorte High School also recorded a high score of 96.10.
Lucindale Area School’s top student received a raw score of 89.2.
Kangaroo Inn Area School did not disclose their top scores, but principal Annie Matthews said she was proud of the outstanding effort the Year 12 students made in their studies.
