Logging out and in, to her amazement the mark remained. She then rang her cousin Saul Brady to check she was looking at the right section. 

“I just kept thinking, that can’t be right,” said Hannah.

“I was really shocked. I had been hoping to get 80, maybe high 70s”.

Instead, Hannah Leung found herself amongst the top eight students from Great Lakes College’s senior campus known to have made it into the top ten per cent of ATAR’s marking system. With a score of 92.2, she is hoping to get into Macquarie University for a Bachelor of Human Science, springing into a career in physiotherapy or occupational therapy.

Her cousin, Saul Brady, achieved a score of 95.5. Currently working at Foster Tuncurry’s Medical Centre, he will take up one of two scholarships offered for a commerce or commerce law degree after a gap year.

Zoe Gottstein is rethinking her plans of heading back to Germany for tertiary studies, where there are no university fees. Her score of 96.2 and a scholarship to study at the University of Western Sydney should get her into electrical engineering, towards a career in alternative energy. 

An excited Katie Gilfillan said she would have been happy with anything over 85. Her score of 91.5 was beyond her expectations. She is heading to Wollongong for a Bachelor of Commerce on a Dean’s Scholarship Program, which will help towards the cost of books and provide her with a mentor.

Justin Hassett said his ATAR of 97.05 put him in a good mood. He is heading to University of New South Wales on a scholarship to do Rural Engineering, ultimately hoping to get into nuclear engineering although he conceded that this was definitely subject to change.

Kaspar Fiebig was happy with his ATAR of 98.2, which he hopes will be enough to get him into Medicine in Sydney. Kaspar would ultimately like to take the skills with him into aid work around the world.

Liam Johnson discovered his hard work paid off with an ATAR of 98.9. He is aiming towards Medicine to specialise as a brain surgeon. Taking 14 years, it is the longest fulltime degree available anywhere.

“I love challenges and problem solving, and the manual dexterity of brain surgery really appeals to me” said Liam, an accomplished mathematician and pianist.

Leading the Great Lakes College charge is Daniel Mansour, following a tradition set by his older sister four years ago to become Dux of Year 12. With an ATAR of 98.95, Daniel is looking at becoming a bio-medical engineer. He said he worked consistently all year, believing that you get out what you put in.

“I tried my best. The friendly competition around me helped too” he said with a grin, casting a cheeky glance towards Liam and Kasper.

Bob Henry, principal of Great Lake College’s Senior Campus, said the school was delighted with the excellent results achieved by their academic students, and that based on information received approximately 80 university offers had been made so far to students. 

Mr Henry acknowledged the work of not only the senior campus teachers, but the teachers across the Great Lakes Learning Community.

“Our excellent HSC results are a result of 13 years of quality education”, he said.

Endorsing the message that independent learning is a lifelong thing, Mr Henry stressed that HSC success comes in many forms.

“For some it is the high academic achievement, for others it is the combination of school based study and vocational education. For others, it is completing 13 years of schooling and obtaining an HSC.”

Fifty five HSC students at the college included a vocational training course delivered by the school within their HSC. A further 46 HSC students successfully participated in a course delivered by TAFE.

“Such strong results by so many students is a reflection of not only the abilities of our students, their dedication and application, but also the excellent teaching they have received,” Mr Henry said, offering the school’s congratulations to 2014 Dux Daniel Mansour.