By Tanya Steele
The future holds promise for a young Belgrave Year 12 student as results for ATAR were delivered across the state on Monday 11 December.
As the 2023 VTE results dropped students across the country could breathe a sigh of relief as they finished out their secondary education.
One student from Belgrave’s Mater Christi College (MCC) had a stellar result of 98.4 and Tess Grandia said she had wanted to do well, but wasn’t putting a number on it.
“When I did get the result, it honestly was quite a shock,” she said.
Ms Grandia said she believed that working alongside peers and teachers, getting help when needed and dedicating time outside of school for her subjects, played a role in her outcome.
“The main factor was maintaining a balance between school and life, ensuring I took time to relax and have fun with friends rather than overworking myself. I am so grateful to all of my teachers, family and friends who have supported and encouraged me over the years to reach this position today,” she said.
Ms Grandier said psychology was a most interesting subject, and outdoor and environmental education was great for hands on fun with her peers.
“We’d go hiking at Wilson’s Prom and it was all a bonding experience which made year 12 really enjoyable,” she said.
MCC had an array of great results for 2023 and board chair Dr Bern Nicholls said the school acknowledged that not every student’s story was told by their ATAR score.
“We are particularly proud of our VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education ) VM students who have achieved great things in this first year of the new One VCE,” he said.
The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is currently expanding and students now have more options for their final school years.
“For our students aspiring to pursue higher education, the ATAR continues to hold substantial importance in their Senior studies.” Dr Nicholls said.
Mater Christi also had a number other high ATAR achievers, who all attained ATARs over 90 – Aly Jack Robinson, Emma Di Nardo, Alisha McGaffin, Alice Findlay, Willow Simanjuntak, Simone Martin, and Olivia Ward.
Jen MacDonald a student in year 11, also attained a perfect score of 50 in Health and Human Development as a higher study.
Ms Grandier said she wants to go on to uni but hasn’t decided exactly what direction she is going yet, leaving a question mark on the horizon for now.
“I haven’t decided if I’ll be going in to uni or if I might like to defer,” she said.
Ms Grandier said she had a great year 12 – especially when the students came together to make the most of the experience.
“I wanted to do well in school, but also enjoy the social experiences like the formal,” she said.
The education principal at MCC Maria Haggett said even though the external results were important, it was the learning growth that so many of the young people had achieved through perseverance and hard work that made their hearts sing.
“Let us celebrate every young person’s commitment to their growth and development within our supportive MCC community,” she said.
Students can now look forward to their next steps, whether studying at university or TAFE, entering the workforce, or taking a gap year.
Some much needed time off and relaxation is on the agenda and Ms Grandier said she has some small trips planned but not much else.
“Relaxing a bit will be nice, I just got back from the Gold Coast and Christmas will be quite chill,” she said.
