It was smiles all round at the Hills Grammar HSC Afternoon Tea as the staff and students celebrated the results of their hard work and dedication. Out of the School’s 77 candidates, 21 boys and 14 girls were named as Distinguished Achievers (scoring over 90% in at least one subject).
Top honours went to Anna Coote with an ATAR of 99.85 and Rose Fuggle – both placing in the top 20 in the State for Business Studies and General Mathematics 2. The creative and performing arts recognised the talents of three young ladies nominated for HSC Showcases; Rose Fuggle for OnStage (Drama), Georgia Croft for Callback (Dance) and Kyna Diancin for ENCORE (Music).
Sharing Dux of the School honours, Anna and Rose are both studying law degrees; Anna at ANU with a double degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and Rose at the University of Sydney with International and Global Studies, placing her for a year in Padova, Italy.
“I believe my success was largely due to my mantra ‘wherever you are, be all there’ which helped me separate home and school, study and leisure,” Rose commented.
Anna agreed, “Focussing from day one on every task at hand, having teachers who were committed to supporting your goals and being surrounded by peers with a similar mind-set created an atmosphere for success.”
Georgia Croft’s dance was selected for the Callback HSC Showcase and she faced a different challenge, “I was accepted into my chosen dance course before the HSC commenced so it was really important to maintain the motivation and focus to achieving the marks I had set as my goal.”
Newly appointed Principal Michael Smith commented, “Hills Grammar’s 2016 HSC cohort had every reason to be proud as they displayed what can be achieved with sustained effort, a supportive learning environment and a genuine passion for learning.”
The School was placed 71st in the SMH Top 100 schools and 4th in the ‘Movers and Shakers’, denoting a great improvement in ranking from 2015 to 2016.
“However, HSC statistics only tell part of the educational journey that Hills Grammar graduates experience whilst students at the School; it is also the development of character, citizenship, creative thinking and confidence which distinguishes our graduates as future leaders and contributors to the communities they will enter and serve. I have no doubt we will be hearing of the achievements and successes, academic and otherwise, of the Class of 2016, well into their promising futures”
