— original article at AdelaideNow by Shashi Baltutis
Premier Peter Malinauskas has delivered some words of wisdom to the thousands of Year 12 students who received their SACE results this morning.
Anticipating the excitement and anxiety of many students, he wrote on Facebook: “If you don’t get the marks you wanted, remember there’s more than one road to the same destination.”
“Your parents, teachers and mentors have all prepared you well for what life holds for you after high school.
“So don’t stress too much because you’ve made it this far… But most importantly, enjoy the best years ahead of you.”
Year 12 results were officially released at 8:30am on Monday morning – though many students got an early reveal of their grades.
Some social media users reported being able to access their ATAR as early as 8am, however the exact number of students was unclear.
Year 12 student Riley Klose was among those sitting at their computer nervously awaiting their final results on Monday morning.
But he had already been given an indication of how he will fare. He achieved the highest score of his Year 12 Scotch College cohort for English, chemistry and physics.
Last year he already received merits for year 12 biology and research project.
“I just put a lot of time and effort into every subject and I wanted to be very well prepared before every test and assignment,” Riley, 18, said ahead of the big reveal.
The Scotch student studied about “three or four hours” at minimum every night to ensure he received an ATAR high enough to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“My dad works at the Royal Flying doctors and I observed first hand how his work with technology is helping outback communities today,” he said.
“I just see how many people’s lives have become much better from his work.
“He sends me photos when he’s on a plane seeing the people and the beautiful country out there.”
Riley has already been accepted into Australian National University for medical science based on his Year 11 results and hopes to enter a career “that combines health and technology”.
“I’m always interested in learning about new and up and coming things like artificial intelligence,” he said.
He is one of a higher number of students than ever before who have participated in the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) with the 2023 cohort achieving a record completion rate.
More than 15,560 students completed their SACE in 2023, which represents a seven per cent increase on last year’s results.
There was a 98.9 per cent completion rate for students and an estimated 95 per cent of all South Australians aged between 16 and 18 studied at least one SACE subject.
More than 75 per cent of SACE completers received an ATAR.
There were 3790 country students who completed their SACE, up from 3660 in 2022.
There was also an increase in indigenous students who completed their SACE from 347 last year to 421.
Of all students who completed their SACE, about 6,100 studied Vocational Education and Training.
A total of 1120 students achieved 1337 subject merits.
Fellow Year 12 student at Scotch, Emma Lucas, said ahead of results morning she was feeling “mixed between nervous, excited and waiting for it to be finally over”.
“I might have a friend over to go through their results as well,” Emma, 17, said.
She studied maths methods, chemistry, general English and media and she is hoping for a 95 ATAR.
Emma said despite studying about five hours a night during her final year, it was not “crazy stressful” as she “balanced things well” and enjoyed going to the school library with friends to study.
Emma hopes to study a double degree in law and business at university.
SACE Board chief executive Michaela Bensley congratulated the Class of 2023 for their “creative thinking, community leadership, resilience, skill and passion for learning”.
“The SACE Board’s vision for all students is not only to complete Year 12 with academic success, but to achieve a world-class certificate of education that supports every student to reach their fullest potential,” Ms Bensley said.
Acting Minister for Education Joe Szakacs also commended Year 12s for their “dedication”.
“I am incredibly proud of all Year 12 students today and hope their results reflect all they have learned over their 13 years of schooling,” Mr Szakacs said.
“It is also important to acknowledge the significant amount of work and support of South Australian teachers and families in helping students reach their fullest potential.”
