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Jacob Pope has some simple advice for students facing their final year of school.
“Don’t give up the things you love doing,” he said.
“It’s not a time to change your life, you do have to set some extra time away to study, but it’s important to still live your life. I found that an absolute key this year.”
Jacob knows better than most about work-play balance after being named Emmanuel College’s dux of 2017 with an ATAR of 98.45.
Jacob, who turns 18 on Saturday, continued to play football for Old Collegians and Cricket for Nestles throughout his final year.
“I worked hard when I was working, but I also managed to make sure I had that balance. I love footy, I love cricket, so I had to make sure I kept that up. I never stopped training, I never stopped playing,” he said.
He now has his sights set on studying medicine.
“I’m hoping to go straight into direct entry at Monash. I’ll still have to go through an interview process for that, I should get an interview but I obviously don’t know yet,” he said.
“I want to become a doctor. I’ve always loved being able to help people in that way, and I’ve always loved science.
“My father passed away when I was a young child. I’ve always loved the fact that if I go into medicine I’d be able to do something to help people in that way.”
Jacob has recently returned from an alternative to schoolies trip to East Timor, which he said helped cement his plan to go into a career where he’s helping others.
Emmanuel College principal Peter Morgan said the whole school community was proud of Jacob’s efforts.
“We’re really proud of Jacob. He truly deserves the result he’s got, he’s worked incredibly hard,” he said.
“Emmanuel endeavours to provide a really broad range of curriculum choices for students. The opportunity is there really for students to find their niche, find what really interests them and to pursue that.”
Brauer College student Yasmine McDonough topped the region’s ATAR scores with 98.95.
Yasmine, 18, said her score had far exceeded her expectations. She described the year as challenging and stressful at times, but she’s now looking forward to hopefully studying science at Monash University next year.
Principal Jane Boyle said quite a few students achieved scores into the 90s and the high 80s.
"We’ve always said that Brauer College is a school of academic excellence," Ms Boyle said.
"Our results are an indication of that trend.”