Lorena Ghignone from All Saints Catholic Senior College at Casula is the only student in the three years since the HSC was revamped to reach the top band 6 in Standard English. She had a mark of exactly 90.
Three students from public schools joined Lorena and Karl Eccleston from Pittwater Grammar in cleaning up the English awards.
Maja Domo from Maclean High School came first in English Extension 1, formerly called three-unit English.
Karl topped English Extension 2, where students complete a major work such as a short story or film. In this subject, 43 per cent of the 2300 students achieved the highest performance band.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/18/1071337099161.html
At Sydney Girls High School, the HSC class of 2003 have lived up to their school motto and proved that work does indeed conquer all.
The academically selective government school won nine places on the first-in-course honours list announced yesterday, in a diverse range of subjects from mathematics to languages and visual arts.
This year, 74 of the 130 places on the course-topping list went to public schools, up from last year's figure of 66.
A further 44 merit certificates were awarded to students in the non-government sector, while the remainder were students who were self-taught, privately tutored or participating in university-affiliated distinction courses.
Clearly not lacking in motivation is Sydney Girls High student Louise Barber, who read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series in French to hone her language skills. Louise came top in the state for French Continuers and shared first place in two-unit mathematics.
Her friend Caitlin Brown topped French Extension. Rachel Spangaro, touring the US with the combined high schools band the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, topped Japanese Extension and, along with her classmates Janice Lo and Mina Ip also topped Japanese Continuers.
Janice also topped in a second subject, Chinese Continuers. A sixth student from the selective government girls' school, Sophie Williams, came equal first in Visual Arts.
The top performers in the non-government sector were Pymble Ladies College and Sydney Grammar School with both scoring firsts in four subjects.
"I beat the boys," Miriam Gutnick beamed, clutching her certificates for first in Classical Hebrew Continuers and Classical Hebrew Extension.
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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/18/1071337099060.html
Fiona, who studied at Coffs Harbour Senior College, scored 92 in Aboriginal Studies to share equal first with Heidi Alchin from Dubbo. "Some dude from the Board of Studies rang me up, and I was very surprised . . . but my teacher had faith," she said.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/18/1071337099164.html
When Vincent Mok got a call from the Board of Studies on Monday telling him he had bagged twin firsts in HSC Physics and Chemistry, he wondered what happened to Biology.
The Carlingford teenager topped the Australian [Olympiad] team in Minsk in July, sweating his way to seventh from 163 internationally, but yesterday his place at the Biology podium was taken by Sarah Greenwood, 17, of Abbotsleigh - who was herself "completely shocked". She had a mark of 98.
Vincent, who wants to study medicine at University of NSW, said he was happy with his scores of 99 and 97 in Physics and Chemistry.
Daily doubles were scored mainly by candidates sitting two levels of the same language, but Vincent's set of firsts in separate disciplines was also achieved by Janice Lo, of Sydney Girls High, in Chinese and Japanese continuers, and Emma Ciufo in Drama and Music 1.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/18/1071337099167.html