WHILE Schoolies celebrations, formals, graduation ceremonies and muck-up days represent the emotional end of a schooling career, the release of SACE results is the final academic piece of the puzzle for year 12s across the state.
Achieving the SACE and receiving the infamous ATAR at the end of the schooling year is something in the back of every student’s mind throughout the entirety of high school.
Terms like “scaling” start getting thrown around well before year 12 begins, with students often picking subjects based on what is going to net the highest score possible.
Striving for excellence is never a bad thing, but as a schooling society we certainly have a tendency to put too much pressure on the results as opposed to the learnings and the experience.
The top achievers from around the region are highlighted in a double-page spread in today’s edition, but particular attention should be paid to the comments of Trinity’s top scholar.
College dux Caitlyn Wood’s advice to future year 12s after netting an ATAR of 98.95 was a breath of fresh air, with the talented youngster stressing the importance of choosing subjects you enjoy, rather than ones you think will earn you the top score.
It shows maturity beyond her years which has no doubt stood her in good stead throughout her school years and will continue to do so into her adult life.
Too much pressure is placed on our young people to achieve certain scores or levels.
Sure, the top achievers deserve to be celebrated and their hard work is to be rightly admired, but not all students are equal in ability or circumstance.
Schools are seemingly getting better at offering alternatives and moving away from a be-all-and-end-all attitude to the ATAR, but there remains work to be done in the sphere.
This editorial is not to diminish the achievements of those occupying pages four and five, but here to serve as a reminder to those that aren’t on those pages, or prospective year 12s for the coming years.
In an Instagram-heavy society it can be normal to be tricked into thinking your life and your achievements need to match that of society’s elite and that anything else is insufficient.
The same concept can be applied to the ATAR.
While it’s great that these students have done so well, it’s also okay to not be on that level.
It can be easy to get swept up in the mania of schooling results, but whether you smashed it out of the park or took the “Ps get degrees” approach that used to echo through university halls, options remain present for you.
We are living in an increasingly open world rife with opportunity, so the decisions made throughout your time at school can certainly help your life, but try not to get caught up thinking they define it.
Kudos go to all those that completed the schooling journey, and to those that took an early exit to chase a different dream, whatever that may be.
