Despite being offered a scholarship to Melbourne University on Monday morning, Warrnambool VCE student Rain Lai couldn't bring himself to look at his ATAR results.
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"I wasn't too eager to check it this morning," Rain, 18, said. "I was a bit afraid it might not be what I wanted but after I checked it I was very pleased."
When he saw his results on Monday, December 11, 2023, almost five hours after they were released, he discovered an ATAR of 99.1 - the south-west's top score.
"That's amazing," he said when he was informed of the achievement.
It's even more amazing considering seven years ago the Brauer College student didn't speak a word of English.
Rain's parents moved to the south-west from China when he was 11 with the then-grade six pupil learning to speak the language from his classmates.
Now he's looking at studying engineering at either Monash or Melbourne universities.
"I've got a scholarship offer from Melbourne Uni," he said. "I was going to go to Monash but now I might consider Melbourne as well."
He said the scholarship was a relief and would take some financial pressure off his family.
"The biggest thing I've learnt is to try and make the best out of every situation," Rain said. "You just have to work out a way to figure it out and allocate your time the best way possible.
"I really struggled to balance my sporting and schooling (during the year) but now I think I did rather well, now my ATAR is out.
"I allocated a lot of time to sport and I was feeling a bit guilty about that, thinking maybe I won't get too high of a result, but it turned out really great.
"For me personally it was the time I had to relax to go running and go to judo classes, things other than school that I'm really passionate about helped me get my mind into the study when I needed to."
Warrnambool's Emily Mahony wasn't nervous opening her VCE results, instead, she was excited.
That excitement soon turned to shock when the Emmanuel College student saw her ATAR on Monday morning - a score of 99 with a top study score of 50 for physical education.
"My year had been good but I was pretty shocked when I opened my results," Emily said. "I wasn't expecting that. I'm very happy."
Emily, 18, graduated from Emmanuel College this year and is excited for her future. She hopes to study medicine at Melbourne's Monash University and said her score was a "really big relief".
"I wasn't that nervous," she said. "I was just really excited to see what it was. I've had three brothers go through and I was like 'now its my turn'."
They were some of more than 51,200 Victorian students who graduated with their VCE and another 6400 teenagers have completed their VCE Vocational Major which provides practical experience in one or more industries.
Emmanuel College principal Peter Morgan congratulated the year level and Emily on their excellent achievements.
"While we understand that ATAR scores are but one measure of success, we also recognise that excellent secondary school outcomes open doors and create opportunities," Mr Morgan said.
"The college celebrates and acknowledges those students who received ATARs above 90 who make up 10 percent of the Emmanuel VCE cohort."
The results were released on Monday, December 11, 2023 with the region's principals proud of their graduating students' dedication and the commitment they'd shown throughout year 12 and during their education journey.
Many spoke about ATARs being just one way to measure a students success, with the year 12s showcasing admirable skills, qualities, community involvement and other achievements.
The Hamilton and Alexandra College principal Michael Horne said "each student is the author of their own results".
"Sitting behind each number is a student who, whatever their final score, has contributed to the life of the school," Mr Horne said.
Meanwhile, VCE Vocational Major graduates were recognised for their successful transitions into a range of pathway opportunities in various industries and interest areas.
"These young people are already stepping into work and learning opportunities that place them as the leaders of tomorrow and even today," Warrnambool College principal Dave Clift said.
Warrnambool College's dux was Jem Twitt with an ATAR of 94.35. Principal Dave Clift said Jem, 18, had "risen above so many challenges during their time at Warrnambool College".
"The journey has not always been easy, often the path was complicated both personally and academically. But this ATAR is testament to their diligence. The rewards they reap from this ATAR opens up a wealth of opportunity. Their future is an open book, and we cannot wait to hear their next chapter."
He congratulated the year level and said more students had achieved an ATAR greater than 70 in 2023 than any other cohort in the past decade.
Warrnambool's King's College dux was Elsa George, 18, who received an ATAR of 90.5.
Principal Allister Rouse congratulated the year 12 cohort and Elsa, 18, on her dedication and hard work.
Terang College's dux was Abbey Dixon, 17, with an ATAR of 94.75. Principal Kath Tanner said Abbey was focused and dedicated and had worked extremely hard putting 110 per cent into her studies.
Camperdown College's dux was Lewani Bateman who juggled her study commitments with her role as student voice leader and performing with the college string ensemble.
The top achiever at Mercy Regional College was Ronan Ludeman who hopes study engineering or science.
Ronan said he was very happy to be awarded the dux, thanking his parents, teachers and students for "pushing me to do my best".
Mortlake College's top-scoring student was Mitchell Hughes, 18, with an ATAR of 81.2. He was described as displaying consistent effort and a "diligent student who maximised his full potential".
Derrinallum P-12 College's Declan Leech, 17, was its dux with an ATAR of 71.3.
Meanwhile at Cobden Technical School its VCE dux was school captain Willoughby Perriss who hopes to study a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Management and Bachelor of Business at Deakin University.
Principal Rohan Keert said Willoughby, 19, was an inspiring role model, balancing his school studies, numerous part-time jobs and significant community contributions including volunteering with the CFA and Progressing Cobden. He was also Corangamite Shire's Young Citizen of the Year at the 2023 Australia Day awards.
Down the road at Timboon P-12 School its captain Olive Andrew was the top scorer. Olive received an ATAR of 86.6 and plans to study teaching.
The Hamilton and Alexandra College dux was college vice captain Katie Richardson, 18, with an ATAR of 95.2. She will go on to study a bachelor of Science at Melbourne University in 2024.
Hamilton's Monivae College's top-scoring student was Sienna Maddocks, 17, with an ATAR of 93.9. Sienna hopes to study a bachelor of Science at Melbourne University next year.
Hawkesdale P12 College does not publicly release student VCE results.
The VCE Vocational Major duxs include:
- Ruby Walsh - Camperdown College
- Breanna Taylor - Brauer College
- Piper Jarvie - Mortlake College
- Annameike Cozens - Emmanuel College
- Elijah O'Brien - Warrnambool College
- Wil Abaslom and Jordan Beard - Mercy Regional College
- The region's secondary colleges were invited to supply their top-scoring VCE and VCE VM students to The Standard.
