HSC, ATAR results LIVE: NSW Year 12 students receive end of year results

Other top creative works came from students across the state's regions, who have shared their photographs throughout the day.

When Tamworth student Liam Rodgers built a queen-sized bed for industrial technology he didn’t expect to top the state. Today’s achievement of an 83.65 ATAR was also a surprise to him.

“I put a lot of effort into it but I didn’t ever imagine it that result,” he said. “My parents were also a bit speechless.”

He attends Farrer Memorial High in Tamworth - one of the state’s three public boarding schools.

Clint Gallagher, the school principal, said that despite COVID-19 it was a “bounce back year” for the school’s success.

“This particular year group has put their best foot forward,” he said. “I’ve been on the phone all morning congratulating them.”

Louise Gilmour was school captain of Warialda High: one of the state's smallest high schools with just over 150 students.

She made her graduating class of 11 proud with a 93.55 ATAR and band 6 results in music, food technology and visual arts.

“I got my ATAR when I was in the car,” Louisa said. "It was a surreal feeling because it was sort of like a new chapter is beginning. It confirmed that everything is going to change and it’s going to be all different now."

Louisa has been offered a double degree at Macquarie University and will have to leave home to live on campus next year.

“Many of the borders at the university are from rural and remote communities, so it’s got a country and community-oriented mindset," she said. "I’m looking forward to it."

“Playing a small role in their achievements today and watching them develop and thrive during their schooling at Tangara - and specifically over the course of 2020 - is one of my proudest career moments,” she said.

“Congratulations to all the girls for such outstanding results! I also congratulate all parents, whose sacrifice, love, support and encouragement throughout their school years and particularly during
this difficult year, has been commendable.”

OLMC’s top achievers were dominated by students in leadership positions at the school.

“Many of these girls even cite the fact that they were leaders as helping them to achieve these results as it kept them well-rounded and encouraged them to be constantly organised,” said acting principal Marie Wood.

“Our girls demonstrated so much resilience to achieve these results despite being in isolation due to COVID-19 cases.”

Shayla said she had “a big plan” for the future, but the challenges of this year changed it completely. “Ever since I was little all I wanted to do was go to uni and become a teacher or something,” she said.

“I was getting As in year 11 but then this year it dropped. I’m a very independent worker but it was tough - the feeling of doing it all on your own.”

The realisation her school days are over hasn’t quite hit yet - “a lot of us just feel that we’re only on school holidays” - but she will use this time to apply for a wide range of jobs.

University might not be on the table for now, but Shayla is applying for several traineeships to get as much experience in the world as she can.

“I’m pretty open to doing any kind of job. I’m optimistic,” she said.

“He asked me if I was too excited to do the test and I had to quickly gather myself.

“It was a very odd series of events this morning.”

She passed her driver’s test and then set about finalising her university preferences.

“I was hoping to get into medicine and this is very exciting news because it increases my chances a lot and means I can maybe study in Sydney,” Anika said.

Her mum was especially happy about the prospect of Anika staying in Sydney after her older sister moved to Townsville to do her medicine degree.

Her German teacher was also thrilled by Anika’s HSC results, which included a first-in-course for the language.

“She’s been with me all through high school and she’s leaving this year so she said she was very happy to end on that note,” Anika said.

She also thanked her other teachers for helping this year’s HSC cohort get through the challenges of COVID-19.

“The most difficult thing was motivation and they did a lot to raise morale,” she said.

Anika said she’s going to celebrate at her sister’s 21st birthday party tonight.

“It’ll be a bit of a double celebration if she doesn’t mind it,” she said.

He felt “relief and joy” upon learning the news.

Erik Huang also achieved the top rank as a result of “elements of hard work and luck”, he said. “I don’t think there is any typical mould for 99.95 students.“

But he said the high ATAR wasn’t his end goal. “I wasn’t too fussed about the score, it’s just that it opens up opportunities for what university you can get into,” he said.

Erik’s basketball team was in the state’s top 16 for 2020. Tonight he’s celebrating his final year success with a nice dinner with his family and friends.