St Andrew's Cathedral School

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Strong HSC results announced following challenging year

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St Andrew’s Cathedral School is celebrating the impressive results of HSC students following a challenging year. Deputy Head of School (Secondary) Mr Brad Swibel wrote to the school community to announce the excellent results. IB Diploma results will be released in early January.

Dear Parents and Carers, 

We have been excitedly looking over the Year 12 2020 HSC results that arrived at 6 o’clock this morning. We are thrilled for our students, many of whom have achieved some spectacular results and personal achievements. Considering the challenges all students (and their families) faced during 2020, this is especially rewarding for them. 

SACS also ranked 92nd in NSW on The Sydney Morning Herald league tables for Band 6 90% and over results (we are regularly in the top 100 schools), showing our consistent high achievementThis is considerably impressive considering one-third of Year 12 students study the IB Diploma and their results do not contribute to this ranking. SACS was ranked the highest IB/HSC coeducational school in NSW (outranking many other top tier independent schools in NSW).

This is testament to the great leadership of our Director of Learning (Senior College) Mrs Eleni Tatsis, Head of Senior College Mr David Lindsay, Deputy Head of Senior College Mrs Sonia Witheridge, Head of Learning Analytics Mr Garth Hasler, Careers Counsellor Mr Des Sinovich, our Heads of Department, Heads of House, subject teachers, tutors, learning coaches and counsellors. Our students all had individualised Growth Learning Plans that teachers and tutors worked with to help students achieve their goals.

Notable individual mentions and congratulations go to: 

HSC Dux 

  • Jamie Christoforou (ATAR 99.00) 

Top ATARs above 90 (received from students so far. ATAR results are voluntarily provided by studentsThe ATAR is a ranking number out of 99.95 in terms of place in the state) 

  • Jamie Christoforou 99.00 
  • Joshua Quail 98.60 
  • James Thwaites 98.20 
  • Jamison O’Brien 97.95 
  • Leo Denham 97.10 
  • Alex Misoyannis 96.30
  • Zachariah Ahmed 96.15 
  • Sally Williams 95.10 
  • Amy Zhu 94.90 
  • Jennifer Roskov 94.30 
  • Ashlyn Rees 94.05 
  • Ethan Snaidero 93.75 
  • Olivia Hayes 93.55 
  • Bethany Tung 92.25 
  • Eloise Luke 92.10 
  • Conor Magee 92.00 
  • Sophie England 91.45 
  • Han Qi Zhang 90.25 
  • Hayley Reynolds 90.05 

NSW Premier’s List All Rounders (achieving Band 6 results above 90% in 10 or more units): 

  • Jamie Christoforou  
  • Joshua Quail 
  • James Thwaites 
  • Jamison O’Brien 

Top 10 in NSW in a subject  

  • Theodore Misoyannis, 6th in the state for Design and Technology 
  • Jamie Christoforou, 2nd in state for Modern Greek Beginners 

Selected for NSW Showcase event 

  • Olivia Hayes for Design and Technology (Shape) 

Nominated for NSW Showcase events 

HSC Drama – Onstage:  

  • Alex Coulton – Individual Performance: You may always call me Gwendolyn 
  • Geneva Sampson – Individual Performance: Abigail 

HSC Music 1 – Encore:

  • Names: Madison Whitham – Composition 

HSC Design and Technology – Shape:   

  • Olivia Hayes  Smart Javelin (electronically measures and records the distance and pitch of each javelin throw)  
  • Victoria Barlow  Fuel Pump Aid for petrol stations 
  • Harry Carson  Wooden Walker Bike (that converts into a peddle bike) 
  • Theodore Misoyannis  Domestic smart parcel box (informs the user when the parcel has been delivered and gives couriers access via a unique tracking number)

Subject highlights 

As well as fabulous results for individual students, there were splendid subject clusters of results for Band 5 (mark of 80% or more) and Band 6 (mark of 90% or more).  

For instance, in

  • Visual Arts, 50% of the class received Band 6s while 50% received Band 5 (33% higher than the state)
  • Design and Technology, 100% achieved Band 6s and four members of the class were nominated for Showcase as well as one member being selected
  • Software Design, 40% of the class received Band 6s (27% higher than the state)
  • Music 2 and Music Extension, 100% of students in both classes achieved Band 6s
  • Music 1, 33% achieved Band 6
  • Maths Advanced, 25% achieved Band 6
  • Maths Ext 1, 40% achieved E4 (top band)
  • Maths Ext 2, 90% (9 of 10 students) achieved notional Band 6s (E4 and high E3 grades are awarded Band 6s as the course includes the study of Maths Advanced content) – our best result ever!
  • Legal Studies, 29% achieved Band 6s and is the best result in Band 5 and 6 achievement (66% of students) in many years 
  • English Ext 1, 65% achieved an E4 (top band) – best result in many years 
  • English Ext 2, 42% achieved an E4 – best result in many years 
  • English Advanced, results were well above state level for each Band 5 and 6 and were our best results in years 
  • Chemistry, 50% achieved Band 6s (37% above state) and was our best result ever 
  • Physics, 15% achieved Band 6s, well above state average and our best result in years 
  • Drama36% of students achieved Band 6s, and combined with impressive Band 5 results, were well above state level by 26%
  • Studies of Religion 1, 17% achieved Band 6s, which was 10% higher than the state averageAll students achieved at least a Band 5, which was 57% higher than the state average. (These are exceptional results considering this is an accelerated class of 12 Year 11 students.)
  • Japanese Beginners, 50% achieved Band 6s, which was 33% above the state average.  

I am very proud of all our students – the stellar performances, those who achieved personal bests and those who overcame adversity in order to graduate. I am also proud of our staff, our exceptionally talented and committed teachers, our support and operations staff, and our many volunteers who all deeply care for our students. I am also grateful to our parents and SACS families for your partnership in the education and growth of these extraordinary young people.   

Brad Swibel
Deputy Head of School (Secondary)