Local private school excels

Just over half of the Trinity 2018 Year 12 cohort received their results last week. The remaining students completed the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma instead of the HSC and they will receive their results on January 3, 2019. There were 61 boys listed as 2018 Distinguished Achievers, scoring Band 6 in a subject, representing 46 percent of the HSC cohort. In extension subjects, 94 percent of students earned top two band results, and 48 percent of students earned top two band results for two-unit subjects.

Congratulations to Jeremy Adams and Vasi MacMillan on earning a place on the Premier’s All-Round Achievers list, achieving Band 6 results across 10 or more units and scoring an ATAR of 99.25 and 98.85 respectively. In addition, Jeremy Adams was a Top Achiever in Course placing fourth in Ancient History. Ethan Hansford placed third in Construction and Faybian Chow achieved equal tenth in Mathematics Extension 1 attaining an ATAR of 99.25.

In addition, this year three students have been selected for various exhibitions and showcases:

  • Monty Guo of Oatley was successful in being selected to play a violin solo at ENCORE, a selection of performances and compositions from HSC Music students.
  • Ethan Hansford of Croydon, was chosen to have his major work (timber sun lounge) exhibited at Shape 2018, an exhibition of outstanding Major Projects developed by HSC Design and Technology, Industrial Technology and Textiles and Design students.
  • Eddie Azzi from Beverley Park was successful in having his HSC major work chosen for the prestigious ARTEXPRESS, an annual series of exhibitions of exemplary artworks created HSC visual arts students. “I feel honoured that my hard work, was recognised by the ARTEXPRESS judges,” said Eddie. His artwork has also captured international attention, and he has been offered an admission interview with the University of Arts London.

Jeremy found that a change in attitude turned his academic career around: “Between Year 8 and the first half of Year 11, I didn’t achieve all round good marks and the common theme at parent teacher interviews was that I lacked focus and was underachieving. I worked hard to change my attitude, when half way through Year 11, I realised I was wasting important opportunities and my marks were not where I wanted them to be. I was proud of the way that in a short space of time, I was able to work really hard to turn around not only my marks, but also my attitude to life at Trinity. I tried hard to embrace the opportunities offered, and participate in a variety of activities I had previously not considered,” commented Jeremy.

Determining a strategy to manage the HSC workload and co-curricular commitments can be tricky for students. Faybian said, “I didn’t specifically plan out a long-term strategy, so it was more of a spontaneous plan. As the work popped up, I would set goals and come up with day-to-day plans to whittle down the workload, making sure I prioritised closer deadlines whilst keeping an eye on the time I spent and what was remaining.”

All-Round Achiever Vasi MacMillan puts his success down to organisation: “Definitely the toughest challenge was the chunks of exams. I found that in the lead up to exams (generally during holiday breaks) waking up quite early, around 7am, and working as soon as I woke up was a good way to knock off large chunks of work while feeling fresh, and it minimised the burden during these periods. Also, making a list with hours and tasks helped me manage my time during this period,” he said.

Vasi said family support was key in helping him get through Year 12: “My parents were very willing to support me and even helped me with some of the work if needed. This was made easier having a Dad who teaches a subject you do (Economics) at University, and my mother who is studying History at University.” While Faybian said it was music that helped him get through, “Music encouraged me to study when I was alone and it helped me focus on the work in front of me, yet studying with friends every other day and having thorough conversations was also beneficial to my understanding of the content.”

Asked if he had advice for 2019 Year 12 students, Jeremy said the key is discipline, “Often people thought I studied more than anyone else, but this probably wasn’t the case. I just worked consistently and did what I said I would, worked my hardest, then found reassurance in the fact that I’d done my best instead of stressing about what I might get.”

Meanwhile, although IB students have yet to receive their results, some of Trinity’s IB students are well on their way: Nicholas Testa is currently in the UK for admission interviews with Cambridge University and has been offered scholarships at Western Sydney University and St John’s College, University of Sydney where he has also been guaranteed entry; and clarinet player Andrew Kim has been given the opportunity to participate in the Advance Entry Scheme programme at UNSW, where he will start his Music degree with the 2nd year syllabus/course in his first year.

Head Master Tim Bowden said, “We are delighted for the Class of 2018 and the HSC students’ amazing achievements in programme. These are outstanding results, but they don’t paint the full picture and our boys should not be gauged by these results alone, but also by the men they have become. We hope they can step out and face the world with confidence, resilience, and resourcefulness, with the wisdom to know when to speak and the courage to stand for what is right.”

“As our HSC boys move into post-secondary education and vocation, we wish them well. They have done themselves proud in continuing the tradition of excellence at Trinity. We now look forward to receiving the results of our IB candidates in early January to complete the full academic picture of our 2018 Year 12 cohort’s performance,” Mr Bowden concluded.