Catholic Colleges across the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn have much to celebrate as they acknowledge and recognise the achievements of the Class of 2019. 

We congratulate all Year 12 students, many of whom achieved ATARs beyond what they expected, also those students who have successfully completed their VET certificates and others who have overcome great challenges to complete their studies and graduate Year 12. 

This week, Year 12 results were released, and once again, our Catholic Colleges and their students have demonstrated excellence in many areas, in some instances topping State and Territory honour rolls. Many students have received early entry into universities of their choice.

Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn, Year 11 student, Kya Lamarra, achieved a perfect score of 100 in HSC Advanced Mathematics. Kya’s hard work and passion for mathematics saw him complete the HSC Mathematics Advanced course one year ahead of time. After a much deserved holiday break, Kya returns to Trinity in 2020 to complete his other HSC subjects. Mia Skeffington, another Year 11 Trinity College student, also completed the HSC Mathematics Advanced course this year and received a Band 6 with a mark of 93. 

Merici College student Rosemary Zielinski, the Dux for the Class of 2019, placed first in the ACT with an ATAR score of 99.95. Rosemary finished first place in all her classes, a double major in Mathematics, majors in Literature, Physics, Chemistry and a minor in Religious Studies. Rosemary is planning to study Theoretical Physics at the Australian National University (ANU).

Overall, Merici students’ dedication and hard work resulted in exceptional ATARs with four students receiving scores of over 99.

St Clare’s College Dux, Laura van der Linden, received an ATAR 99.85 and was a recipient of the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS) recognition of Excellence Awards: Academic Excellence and Academic Studies Award. Laura will pursue Youth Ministry work in 2020 and intends to study a double degree in Arts/Science at the ANU in 2021. 

Benedict Bawagan, Dux of St John Paul II College, excelled in his academic studies has received an ATAR of over 99.25. Benedict hopes to continue his mathematics studies at ANU through a double degree, Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences and Bachelor of Statistics. A further four St John Paul II College students achieved ATARs over 90. 

As we farewell the Class of 2019, we are confident that they have all been well equipped to start a new chapter in their lives and we wish them all the best in their future pursuits.