Bellingen High has trumped a swathe of government schools to its north and south in the Higher School Certificate results, with 13 distinguished achievers and 21 scores in the 90s from a pool of just 52 students.
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Principal Kim Dixon said based on the Sydney Morning Herald's HSC Honour Roll 2019, Bellingen High's success rate of seven per cent makes it the top performing government school on the Mid North Coast and the North Coast, alongside Hastings Secondary College Westport Campus in Port Macquarie.
"We're the top government school in this area, and with Westport we're the top government school from Raymond Terrace to Tweed Heads," she said.
Dux of the year was school captain Nadia Birch, who achieved Band 6 in four subjects and an ATAR of 98.25. She is planning to study medicine, Ms Dixon said.
Other students with exceptional ATARS were Rosie Stephen 95.55; Finn Lawson-John 92.6; and Ava Kirov 91.6.
Ms Dixon said the Year 12 cohort was a "lovely group of kids" who worked hard and spurred each other on.
"It's almost like a hothouse when you put kids of the same ilk together, who are all aspiring to achieve - it lifts everything," she said.
"Coupled with that, we did have David Neville running his academic excellence program every Tuesday afternoon. It was very well patronised this year by many students."
There was also an extra focus on attaining higher marks in English, overseen by new Head Teacher, Michelle Butcher, who transferred from Penrith Selective High School at the start of this year.
"She ran specific sessions in English on Thursday afternoon. We were careful to remind students that one English unit had to count so they might as well make them both count."
Ms Dixon also mentioned that students of Ann Phelan, Head Teacher of Creative & Performing Arts, achieved extraordinary results.
"Almost all Band 6s across three courses - Music 1, Music 2 and Music Extension."
Bellingen High School's Distinguished Achievers
Students who achieved a mark of 90 or above in specific subjects:
Nadia Birch - Mathematics Extension 1, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, Physics
Finn Lawson-John - History Extension, Music 2, Music Extension
Rosabella Stephen - History Extension, Music 2, Music Extension
Katelyn Perry - Community and Family Studies, Mathematics Standard 2
Ava Kirov - Investigating Science
Aleisha Alford - Mathematics Standard 2
Bill Hart - Music Extension
Django Nesh - Biology
Duke Cruickshank - Music 1
Jackson Boyd - Primary Industries Examination
Rogan Hunt - Music 1
Sophie Russell - Mathematics Standard 2
Tomas Pocilujko - Drama
Another local student with excellent results was Lilli Mosco-Klipin from Bishop Druitt College, who topped the state in Textiles & Design.
Coffs Harbour Senior College, which attracts many students from Bellingen Shire, had 59 scores in the 90s from its 171 HSC students and a success rate of six per cent, according to the SMH analysis.
Bellingen Shire's distinguished achievers at CHSC
Tallulah Remond-Stephen - All-rounder; Ancient History, English Advanced, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, Modern History, History Extension, French Continuers
Indigho Gray - Ancient History, English Advanced, Modern History, History Extension, Studies of Religion II
Matthew Richardson - Chemistry, Mathematics Extension 1, Physics
Demian Eberding - Engineering Studies, Mathematics
Maya McClory - Music 1
Oscar Sutton - Music 1
Gemma McAulay - Music 1
Kira Staheyeff - Entertainment Industry Examination
Ella Bellman - Dance
Ella Hollinsworth - Music 1
