I love the start of the school year. I know many parents do, too. For me, it’s the combination of all that nervous energy ready to be directed and deployed, and the chance to start afresh. It’s also wonderful to watch students enjoy catching up with their peers, renewing old friendships and making new ones. The year is new, we are all a year older and wiser, and a little better equipped to give it a go. Aspirations and possibilities abound. Anticipation is high.
I want to touch on our 2024 HSC results. We were delighted for Year 12 2024, for who they were and how they did. We know that by the measure that is publicly used, percentage of HSC marks over 90, the 2024 result dipped below the 2023 result.
Nonetheless, in percentage terms, the 2024 results were our second strongest by that measure. However, as seasoned observers know, one measure alone does not tell the whole tale. Last year we had the highest number of Showcase nominations in practical subjects and the creative and performing arts that we have ever had. The class of Year 12 2024 also achieved the highest median and mean ATAR of any NBCS cohort to date. This may seem like a paradox, but it isn’t. It indicates overall growing strength and rising performance across a whole group.
Of course, we want our students’ results to continue to grow by all measures, while not reducing success to only one measure or one number. My abiding memory of Year 12 2024 will be their unity and the way that they cared for and supported each other. Their success can be measured in their character and growth, along with their academic success.
Here’s to a new year filled with new opportunities, with learning, with friendships and fun. We look forward to continuing to implement high expectations with clarity, in a way that best supports students to take those opportunities and have a wonderful time of the challenge and joy of learning and growing.
There is an old saying that our highest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realised. In other words, life is rarely as bad as we think it might be or as good as we’d like. May this year live up to your expectations, may it be filled with gratitude and joy, and may it provide the support that we all need if and when things get tricky. We look forward to what 2025 has to bring.
Tim Watson
Principal