General News
14 December, 2023
Makayla and Vincent named as school dux
Year 12 students at Maryborough Education Centre (MEC) and Highview College are celebrating their graduation alongside 51,214 fellow graduates in Victoria. Australian Tertiary Admission Rankings (ATAR) results were released Monday morning, with...
Year 12 students at Maryborough Education Centre (MEC) and Highview College are celebrating their graduation alongside 51,214 fellow graduates in Victoria.
Australian Tertiary Admission Rankings (ATAR) results were released Monday morning, with MEC’s Makayla Cocking and Highview’s Vincent Walker receiving the highest ATAR score for their school, earning the title of dux for 2023.
Makayla said that she was very happy with her results and somewhat relieved that year 12 is over.
“Some exams were pretty hard and stressful at times, so I wasn’t really expecting dux, I had not opened my scores yet before my principal rang me and told me I was dux so I was pretty shocked,” Makayla said.
“I don’t have any plans for the future just yet, I have applied for a few universities but I’m still figuring out what interests me and what I want to do.
“My advice to students would be to not put pressure on yourself, it can get really overwhelming so just try your best.”
Vincent shared similar emotions to Makayla, as he hopes to use his score to go to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to study space engineering.
“I thought I went alright after my exams, time was my main difficulty, but I was definitely surprised that my ATAR was as high as it was and that I was able to get dux,” Vincent said.
“You just have to give it a go and make sure to give yourself breaks throughout, not just for your wellbeing, but to help your learning as well.”
Highview’s director of administration Stuart Mandersloot said that Vincent is a great example for future students to follow.
“Vincent is a great science and maths mind, but he realised that English was a weakness and has worked really hard at that to improve,” Mr Mandersloot said.
“I agree with both Vincent and Makayla, do your best but work smart and still give yourself time for recreational activities.”
This year, 6387 students will have the honour of being the first graduating class of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Vocational Major program, an over $277 million overhaul of the former Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) which gives students a training pathway as well as a VCE certificate.
Highway College introduced the (VCE) Vocational Major program to its year 11 students, with Mr Mandersloot saying it has been very beneficial.
“We have fully embraced (VCE) Vocational Major this year and we have been quite happy about what it offers for our students that are looking to go into trades and apprenticeships,” Mr Mandersloot said.
MEC year seven-12 assistant principal Ben Brady has also seen the new program as a success for the school.
“We have found it to be a very positive thing for our students, they have engaged well with the program and has given them a lot of opportunities,” Mr Brady said.
“We are really proud of all of our year 12 students with they have gone about their studies in their final year of school and we look forward to hearing about their stories as they move on into the big world.”