Beaconhills College Dux Jasper McDowell received an ATAR of 99.85.
Mr McDowell’s subjects included English, English literature, maths methods, French and an extension subject of philosophy and science at the University of Melbourne.
Knowing the work he had put in throughout the year, Mr McDowell was confident he would receive a good ATAR.
He said it was “quite pleasing” to see all the hard work he had done had been worth it.
“It was an element of this could happen, but is it actually going to happen? But it did so I was very happy.”
There were still nerves for Mr McDowell in the lead up to receiving his ATAR on Monday morning.
“I was quite nervous and I tried not to think about it throughout the week,” Mr McDowell said.
“Yesterday I was putting off looking at it.”
Mr McDowell is planning on studying an arts degree at the University of Melbourne alongside a maths diploma.
As a humanities-oriented student, Mr McDowell said the best advice he had for the class of 2023 was to find a way to engage with the content beyond memorising.
“With history, for me one of the things that made that subject so interesting was being able to engage with the politics and the ideas and all the figures and movements involved,” Mr McDowell said.
“I feel like especially with that subject people tend to take it as I’m going in and memorising dates and events and for me that doesn’t work.
“It’s about being able to engage with it in a dynamic, interesting way where you can make interesting points and I feel like that applies to most subjects.”
Berwick campus
Beaconhills College Berwick campus Dux Ruby Thornton-Mackay is already carving out a career in dance, having recently learnt she was accepted into the prestigious West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) for 2023.
She said she was thrilled with her ATAR score of 97.45.
“I definitely aimed high from the start of the year, but it was a pleasant surprise to be Campus Dux.”
“I never really set a numerical goal with my ATAR, I always knew I wanted to pursue dance, so I just wanted to do my best and challenge myself… it wasn’t about the number.”
While her passion lies in Dance, Ruby chose a diverse mix of other VCE subjects, including English, French, chemistry, geography, mathematical methods.
“I have so many interests, so wanted to choose something from every realm of learning,” she said.
