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General News

14 December, 2023

High marks for graduating class of 2023

STUDENTS across the region this week eagerly anticipated the release of VCE results culminating their final year of high school education.

By wd-news

Terang College DUX Abbey Dixon.
Terang College DUX Abbey Dixon.

Among those to receive their results were the 2023 local DUX students, Terang College’s Abbey Dixon, who was named DUX with a 94.75 ATAR score, and Mortlake College’s Mitchell Hughes.

Abbey said she was “pretty excited” to breathe a sigh of relief when results were released on Monday morning.

“I’ve always worked really hard on my studies,” she said.

“It was nice to finally hear I made it.

“I think everyone around me, my friends and family especially, expected me to get a high score but I was extremely nervous until last minute.”

Abbey acknowledged her nerves were in overdrive as she awaited her score, having not slept much and restlessly counting down the hours and minutes over the weekend until the final results went live.

“I was up at 6am on Monday morning just waiting for the results,” she said.

“I was so excited and nervous, and everyone at home just kept telling me to go back to sleep.

“I was not going to be able to sleep, I was so eager to see what came out.”

Abbey hopes to jump straight in to studying psychology at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus.

“One of my family members was very likeminded,” she said.

“She also studied psychology and followed the same path that I’m interested in, so telling me all about her experiences was something which immediately hooked me.

“I knew it was what I wanted to do.

“I’m really excited to go to Waurn Ponds – I feel like it’s the country kid’s campus, so many kids from the country end up there.”

Abbey thanked her family for its support, especially mum and dad (Liz and Dion) and little sister Lilly.

“Thank you to my friends, too,” she said.

“I’m sure they’ve been through a lot dealing with my meltdowns.”

While Abbey was thrilled with her high score, she believed it mattered far less than personal happiness.

“The score, at the end, doesn’t matter,” she said.

“As long as you are happy, no other opinion matters in the ends.”

Terang College principal Kath Tanner congratulated Abbey on her success.

“She’s been completely dedicated to achieving her personal best, and has worked diligently to achieve the high score she achieved,” she said.

“Abbey was purposeful in how she went about her work and incredibly focused.”

Mrs Tanner said graduating students had all recorded strong results in 2023, which meshed with the school’s emphasis on showcasing the strength of regionl education.

“We’ve had a big focus on shifting our academic emphasis to provide support so our students could achieve high scores, trying to negate the difference between what city students can achieve and showing you can achieve just as good results in the country,” she said.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work as a whole school around improving teaching and learning, and it’s starting to pay off.”

While results tend to steal the spotlight, Mrs Tanner said the school community was most proud to support students in taking their first steps towards adulthood – regardless of results or where those first steps will be taken.

“We had 10 students who graduated and all of them will have really different pathways,” she said.

“We have students who are moving in to the workplace, students who have jobs lined up and others who are going to university to further their education.

“We’ve got a wide variety of students but we’re pleased as a college that they all have a pathway, know what their next steps are, and how to get there.

“I think our college does that well; we’re not solely focussed on students doing VCE, our applied learning focus is just as strong and we try to find jobs, trainees or apprenticeships for our students.”

Mortlake College principal Sean Fitzpatrick congratulated Mitchell Hughes.

“He’s not only DUX but he’s been a terrific school captain this year,” he said.

“He’s represented himself and the school really well.

“He’s a real all-rounder which is testament to his application.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said he was thrilled with the overall results of the school’s graduates.

“Our median study score, which we measure ourselves against, was really solid,” he said.

“We’ll be well-above the state average again, which is something we’ve been able to achieve for a long period.

“That’s the one we look towards and it shows students have perfomed really well across the range of subjects.

“We’ve also had a large cohort of graduating students complete their vocational major, which was in its first year, which is about setting them up in their best pathway they choose so we’re really proud of their efforts.”

Mr Fitzpatrick wished the class of 2023 all the best for its future, and encouraged them to take a moment to reflect on all they have accomplished.

“It’s important to have a break and reset, because 13 years of education is big,” he said.

“They’re entitled to take their time, it doesn’t have to be all worked out.

“It’s easy to underestimate these students have endured a pandemic, which is a significant part of their history.

“To see them all graduate, we’re all immensely proud.”

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