Rural students set bar high
Two Wimmera year-12 students are setting the academic bar high this year after receiving honours from Premier Daniel Andrews.
Ararat Marian College student Bridget Mcguckian and Nhill College’s Mikayla Farmers received perfect scores in 2019.
They were among 307 students statewide awarded for their academic excellence for the Premier’s Victorian Certificate of Education, VCE, Awards in 2020.
Both Mikayla and Bridget were presented a study award as ‘best performers’ in their individual subjects, achieving perfect scores in year-12 level subjects while in year 11.
Bridget received the honours for her perfect score in physical education.
She said finding a balance between study, family and social life was key to her success.
“It was a shock, I thought you had to be a superhuman to do that,” she said.
“I thought you had to put in hundreds of hours of work – although I feel like I did work really hard.
“I still enjoyed my year and still went out and did a lot of social things, studied, played netball and basketball.”
Bridget said her score set a great example of what students could achieve at a rural school.
“When I was younger I thought I would have to move to a bigger school to achieve that height,” she said.
“I just put in my best effort and gave it my best shot – there’s no reason why people in rural Victoria can’t achieve the same results.”
Bridget also studied year-12 biology last year and also received a perfect score of 50.
She thanked her teachers for their continued support.
Mikayla achieved a perfect score after putting in many restless nights for her visual communication and design subject.
Mikayla designed a sustainable house with a mock company and logo under the guidance of her teacher Lyn Coghlan.
And like Bridget, she also completed the year-12 subject in year 11.
Mikayla said she was astounded to receive the Premier’s honour.
“I’m honoured, I never expected it,” she said.
“I got a nice little letter in the mail. I’d never heard about the awards before that.
“This just proves that if you put the hard work in, you’ll get it back.”
She thanked Mrs Coughlan, who gave her ongoing support throughout the year.
“It’s amazing to have such an experienced teacher,” she said.
“She’d do anything to help with my studies in that subject.
“If I was willing to put in the effort, she was willing to put in even more.”
Marian College principal Carmel Barker said the students’ achievements set an academic precedence for rural schools.
“We’ve had a number of students achieve quite high results in maths and science especially,” she said.
“It shows students that you don’t have to be in the inner city.
“Working hard here, regardless of the limitation of the country, you can still do really well.
“It’s a matter of balance. The students we see do really well have a great balance between study, sport and family life.”
The Department of Education and Training has postponed the 2020 Premier’s VCE Awards until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.