"What great results!"
This is the comment I have most frequently heard from people in our community when they hear about our HSC results. Our 2022 HSC cohort were ranked second in the Illawarra - and first out of all the independent schools in our region.
Breaking down the numbers
ICS was ranked among the Sydney Morning Herald Top 200 Schools. Our students achieved 24 Band 6 results in a range of subjects, including Design and Technology, Engineering Studies, English, History, Food Technology, Mathematics, Industrial Technology Multimedia, German and French. Additionally, in 80% of our courses, our course averages were above the state mean.
These were great results!
Congratulations are due to our students for their work, determination and performance, as well as their teachers and parents/carers who guided and encouraged them right to the end.
A bigger picture
Of course, the academic results are only one part of the real picture of our cohort. Digging deeper, the real picture reveals the difficulty experienced by many of our students. I am sure it was with great relief that our students completed their HSC exams, with some of our students completing their final exams on the last day of the exam period - Friday 4th November. This was the end of a long four-week period of study, preparation and examinations.
The relief they felt was perhaps even greater than the relief felt by previous students, given the COVID-disrupted preparation they have had in the last three years. Only the 2021 cohort would have felt a similar sense of relief.
The senior years of secondary study are the years when our students should be honing their study skills and making great strides in mastering content. They should have been collaborating daily with their peers, under the tutelage of their teachers, spurring each other on to greater depths of understanding. Instead, our students experienced times of isolation during online learning. While online learning sounds appealing, the gleam can quickly disappear as collaboration is harder, seeking help is harder - ultimately making it a difficult road for many of our students.
Our students needed grit and determination. They needed to persevere through some difficult times to complete the Higher School Certificate.
A different measure of success
As we look back at our excellent academic results, it is important to reconsider the notion of success. It is important to remember that academic success is not the only measure of success. For many students their goal was not achieving a 90+ ATAR or achieving a Band 6. Rather, for some, it was completing a major work, or being accepted into a particular course or post-school opportunity. For some, it was even just completing the HSC. We are really proud of each student and their determine to persevere to the end and complete their HSC studies.
Well done to our 2022 Year 12 cohort. We thank God for who you are and how you have enriched us through your involvement in the life of the school. We continue to pray for you and your next steps as you venture out into the world post school.