A "sigh of relief" was how Vincentia High School (VHS) students Bronte Wright and Oliver Griffiths described opening their HSC results last Thursday after two years of COVID-19 disruptions.
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Bronte, who was awarded Dux of VHS with an ATAR of 95.5, reported she was "stoked" with her results.
"I just felt so relieved that it ended on a good note. It feels a bit surreal to be honest," she said.
"I knew I wanted to get over 90 but I never thought I'd be able to get 95.5. It was amazing seeing my mum look at the result with eyes wider than I'd ever seen."
When asked about the challenges she faced during multiple lockdowns, she acknowledged there were positives and negatives to the experience.
"I just didn't want to make COVID an excuse," she said.
"I knew it could be very easy to get distracted. Luckily I found that I'm quite self-motivated but the online learning setup was hard at times.
"One benefit of the lockdown was that I was able to tailor my studies to how it suits me, I'm a night owl so there was more than a few drafts being sent to my teachers at like 11pm."
VHS school captain Oliver Griffiths, who scored an ATAR of 93.1, echoed a similar sentiment in regards to the challenges of online learning.
"I found at times that my motivation did wane particularly after they delayed the exams. I just wanted to get in there and do it," he said.
Oliver acknowledged it was incredibly rewarding coming out the other side.
"After two years of COVID, you really see how well you deal with adversity," he said.
You can look back and go we did all this during a period of upheaval in the world.
- Oliver Griffiths, VHS school captain
Both of the young adults futures look bright with Bronte planning to get into Paramedicine and Oliver a double major in Economics and Law.
When asked about what advice they had for incoming students both provided sound guidance.
"The biggest thing that helped me was keeping the routine the same. I still worked, I still played soccer, I still went to the gym. All provided necessary outlets for me, you need a mental break," said Bronte.
"Don't let any adversity get the best of you. As long as you stay positive you can achieve the results you want but you need to remember to have a work/life balance," said Oliver.
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