THE Hunter's girls and independent schools have led the region's charge on the NSW Education Standards Authority's prestigious merit lists, overcoming two years of disruption to excel.
NESA sent the class of 2021 their Higher School Certificate results at 6am on Thursday. The Universities Admissions Centre released Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks three hours later.
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As reported yesterday, the Hunter had six students on the First in Course list, the region's highest number in six years. Hunter Valley Grammar School's Lucy Saywell outperformed the state in English Extension 2, Merewether High students Delta Hateley and Sophie Loiselle hold the top spots in Earth and Environmental Science and Society and Culture respectively and Newcastle Grammar School's Matthew Macdougall is number one in Engineering Studies.
St Philip's Christian College Waratah's Damon Herington is first in the Entertainment Industry Exam while St Paul's Catholic College Booragul's Caleb Baker achieved the highest result in the Retail Services Exam.
The Top Achievers in Course list - of students who achieved one of the top places and a result in the highest band possible - featured 25 Hunter students, 17 girls and eight boys.
Of these, eight came from academically selective Merewether High, nine were from independent schools, five were from Catholic schools and three were from public schools.
Joining St Philip's student Damon Herington on the list were peers Noah Wooding who was second in the Entertainment Industry Exam, Olivia Nilsson who was second for Swedish Continuers and Ruby Targett who was ninth in Legal Studies.
All Saints' College Maitland (ASC) also had three, Krystal Porteus was seventh in the Construction Exam, Bridget Power was seventh in Visual Arts and Sam Lynch was 10th in Engineering Studies.
There were 27 Hunter students on the Top Achievers list in 2020, compared to 19 in 2019, 28 in 2018, 27 in 2017 and 26 in 2016.
The All Round Achievers list - for students who achieved results in the highest band possible for at least 10 units - featured 20 Hunter students, 14 girls and six boys, 10 from independent schools, five from Merewether High, four from public schools and one from ASC, Olivia Greentree.
For the first time in recent memory, Newcastle Grammar had more students on the list - eight - than Merewether High, which had five: Laura Fernando, Samantha Keogh, Charlotte Paterson, Kepei Tan and Tess Wheeler. Lambton High had three, Mia Sargeant, Alexa Stuart and Rachael Kershaw.
There were 35 Hunter All Round Achievers in 2020, compared to 30 in 2019, 40 in 2018, 42 in 2017 and 38 in 2016. The 2021 HSC exams - and subsequently, the results - were delayed due to the pandemic.
