By Gabriella Payne
Despite the challenges of two years of pandemic lockdowns, VCE students throughout the local area have done exceedingly well with their final exams – and the students at Beaconhills College were a shining example of this.
Of the 202 students who received ATARs across the school’s two campuses (both Berwick and Pakenham), 20 students recorded scores higher than 90 and 59 received scores above 80 – an outstanding achievement.
Sienna Jude, a student from the Pakenham campus, was named this year’s college dux with a top ATAR of 99.25 while Sharni Seamons – who scored a perfect 50 in Year 11 for ’extended investigation’ and a Premier’s Award – topped off her VCE with an ATAR of 99, making her the school’s Berwick campus dux.
Beaconhills students excelled across a wide range of VCE subjects, with some even completing their studies from overseas.
Proving that learning has no boundaries, international student Md Zabir Hossain (who was studying offshore from Bangladesh) managed to achieve a perfect 50 in biology and Liu Zirui (Ray), who completed his Year 12 studies online from China, triumphed with an ATAR of 92.65.
For outgoing headmaster Tony Sheumack, another strong year of Beaconhills VCE results was a wonderful way to conclude his tenure and he congratulated the entire school community for their resilience and dedication over the past two years.
“I am very proud of the brilliant results achieved by our 2021 students,” Mr Sheumack said.
“It has been such a privilege to be part of this fantastic community and share the successes of our students during this very challenging period.
“I am so proud of the staff, students and families who worked together through the lockdowns and are all part of this success story.
“I encourage the class of 2021 to continue to be good citizens and make a positive difference in their chosen career,“ he said.
College duxes Sienna Jude and Sharni Seamons had been eagerly anticipating the announcement of results and were over the moon to discover they had done so well.
Sienna said she was proud of the hard work and dedication to her studies during the “most challenging year of her schooling life”.
“No matter my result, I knew I had done my best, so I am extremely grateful that I received a score that reflected those efforts,” she said.
“I would like to thank all of my friends and teachers who continuously gave me their support and time.
“However, most importantly I am thankful for Beaconhills who provided me with 13 years full of education that allowed me to not only receive the results I did, but to leave school with a strong set of values that I hope will lead me to make a positive contribution to the world.”
An excited Sharni, who had been awake from 4am on Thursday morning, said she was thrilled with her ATAR of 99.
Sharni, who hopes to do law and global studies next year at Monash University, said she set herself some “high goals” at the start of the year and stuck to her study plan, but lockdown was in some ways a blessing in disguise.
“It meant more time to study, because there wasn’t a lot else to do!” she said.
