A cohort of freshly-graduated seniors came back to the St Matthews Catholic School secondary campus one last time in celebration of their years-long efforts to prepare themselves for life after school.
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A morning tea was held for the students able to make it. 2023 is the first full year at the newly-built secondary campus, a far cry from the still-existing Lewis Street campus that all students called home for more than 100 years.
"We've managed to successfully get through the first 12 months which has seen a lot of change and a lot of newness and a lot of excitement - so it's gone really well," Angela Myles, Principal at St Matthews said.
"I think overall the outcomes for them are amazing. Every single one of them that wanted to go off to university has a place at a university in a course of their choosing. The early entry offers are increasingly playing a part in decisions for kids as they finish year 12 and it certainly takes the pressure off at the end of the HSC.
"So it's exciting for them to know that no matter what - that they've got access to the study that they able to say they're going off to start their careers in an area that they're really excited about."
School captains Molly Hensley and Harry Elam said they were excited to be leaving school and were happy with their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) .
Molly, who earned a ATAR of 76 said she was "not angry" with her results and is looking forward to starting an Occupational Therapy degree at Newcastle University next year. Likewise for Harry, who earned a ATAR of 67, he is off to Newcastle University to study primary teaching.
"It's a little bit sad. We have had amazing teachers and really great opportunities here, but it is nice to be moving on to the next chapter," Holly mused. "Yeah, it's pretty surreal," Harry added.
Holly offered some sage advice for next year's seniors: "I would say to make sure you put in as much as you want to get out of it," she said.
"If you want to achieve something, you need to set that goal. I think goal setting is really important for people going into senior school as well."
Many of the outgoing students will attend university or dive headfirst into a career. But all of them have left a positive impression on their fellow classmates and the community.
"[They are] just a beautiful group of young men and women who have really committed to the school community. They've just thrown themselves into their service," stage six coordinator, Cass McCarney said.
"And they've just been wonderful advocates for our school community so we just want to wish them all the best."
