Congratulations Class of 2023!

It is a pleasure to share with you our 2023 HSC highlights. Our students worked with imagination, energy and tenacity. We acknowledge the guidance of their experienced and dedicated teachers, and the strong support and encouragement of family and friends. They have achieved so much.

Congratulations and well done, Year 12!

Ms Shauna Colnan
Principal, International Grammar School

OUTSTANDING ATARS

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a rank (not a mark or score) between 0.00 and 99.95 that indicates a student’s position relative to all the students in their age group. Universities use the ATAR to help them select students for their courses and admission to most tertiary courses. At IGS: 

• Dux Katelyn Clarke achieved the highest ATAR at 97.7
• 5% of the Year 12 cohort achieved an ATAR of 95 and above
• 14% of the Year 12 cohort achieved an ATAR of 90 and above
• 45% of the Year 12 cohort achieved an ATAR of 80 and above.

EARLY UNIVERSITY OFFERS

IGS students have already received 149 offers to courses in diverse areas of study including Architecture and Design, Creative Arts, Engineering and related Technologies, Health, Innovation, Law, Management and Commerce, Natural and Physical Sciences, Philosophy, and Society and Culture. Congratulations to these students. 

NSW TOP ACHIEVERS

The following students achieved one of the State’s highest places in an HSC course and also achieved a result in the highest band.

• Harriet Tonkin 6th place in English Extension 2 with 50 out of 50
• Year 11 student Kai Schlaefle 2nd place in German Continuers with 97 per cent
• Year 11 student Chiara Marchi 3rd place in Italian Extension for with 48 out of 50

Distinguished Achievers

• There were 51 Distinguished Achievers. These students were awarded 90 per cent or above in at least one course.

Honourable Mentions

• IGS students received 81 Honourable Mentions for the distinguished achievement of 90 per cent or above in a course.

• 100 per cent of students studying the following courses achieved in the top two bands: Aboriginal Studies, Design and Technology, German Extension, Italian Extension, Japanese Beginners, Japanese Extension, Music 2, Music Extension, Spanish Extension.

• In Aboriginal Studies our students performed at 17.56 per cent above the State mean.

• In Design and Technology, our results were 10.07 per cent above the State mean.

Students may complete HSC courses early via acceleration or compression. We congratulate 36 IGS Year 11 students who completed HSC courses this year.

31 per cent of these students achieved 90 per cent or higher in one or more HSC courses.

Acceleration in Languages

A total of 24 of our Year 11 students accelerated in Languages. Students accelerated across four languages, in French Continuers, German Continuers, Italian Continuers and Japanese Continuers. These students achieved a mean of 86 per cent.

The highest results in each course were achieved by:

• Kai Schlaefle with 97 per cent for German Continuers
• Chiara Marchi with 95 per cent for Italian Continuers
• Christopher Czernecki with 92 per cent for Japanese Continuers
• Liv Rey Laaksonen with 90 per cent for French Continuers.

Acceleration in Mathematics

Thirteen Year 11 students accelerated in Mathematics Advanced, achieving an average of 79 per cent.

The highest result was earned by Toby Dolph and Christopher Czernecki with 88 per cent.

Aboriginal Studies BY compression

A group of seven Year 11 students completed both Year 11 and Year 12 Aboriginal Studies in one year. Their average result was 90 per cent.

The highest result of 94 per cent was achieved by Georgia Spring, followed by Arky Tibbetts and Amelia Whitaker, both with results of 93 per cent.

Selected for ARTEXPRESS

• Jordan Aguilera-Mendoza

Nominated for Encore music composition 

• Henry Egan

Nominated for OnSTAGE group performances

• Nell Brennan — Benched
• Alexandra Butler — Benched
• Layla Davison — La Famiglia
• Luna Diaz Sung — La Famiglia
• Kristian Dragas — Benched
• Annabel Johnson — La Famiglia
• Coco Lennox — La Famiglia
• Eve Moss Ractliffe — Benched
• Jonathan Riesel — La Famiglia

Nominated for OnSTAGE individual performanceS

• Layla Davison — Too Junior Jones
• Hugo Deutsch — Hamm
• Edward Hopper — A curious incident
• Annabel Johnson — Elizabeth
• Yulan Kung — Minefields and mini skirts
• Coco Lennox — Third world blues
• Eve Moss Ractliffe — Hillary
• Jonathan Riesel — Witch Play

Nominated for OnSTAGE individual DRAMA PROJECTS

• Carter Brecht
• Nell Brennan
• Alexandra Butler
• Maya Furnell
• Henry Lester

Nominated for Shape  

• Eleanor Crompton
• Harriet Tonkin

A word about The Sydney Morning Herald school rankings

The SMH defines “success rate” as the number of high scores (90 per cent and above) expressed as a percentage of exams sat. Like many NSW schools, IGS is non-selective and we pride ourselves on our commitment to personal achievement in a highly inclusive environment.

Among more than a thousand high schools in NSW, IGS was ranked at 122, with a “success rate” of 13.89 per cent. The median “success rate” for NSW schools was 5.47 per cent.

Other measures that create a fuller picture of students’ effort and achievement are set out in this summary, and we commend all our students on their many achievements. 

HSC Course results

Extension Course results

2023 IGS Head Girl Charlotte Waley

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned at IGS is courage. Courage to be unapologetically myself. Courage to speak up about what I believe in. Courage to keep trying despite how many times I make mistakes.

…even though I won’t be at IGS every day, surrounded by the environment and people that I know and love, everything I have learned will always be within me, guiding me through all my future hardships and successes. 

This is an excerpt from Charlotte’s Speech Night Address at the State Theatre in December 2023.

2023 IGS Head Boy Sämi Lightfoot

Each experience IGS has so generously given me has taught me many lessons beyond the classroom…

The world desperately needs us to be the best people we can be, and it starts here at IGS. So seek new experiences, embrace opportunities, never stop improving yourself, and remember that we never stop learning about ourselves or the world around us.

This is an excerpt from Sämi’s address at the 2023 IGS Speech Night at the State Theatre.

In closing, and on behalf of our School community, I warmly congratulate each of our HSC students. While this summary captures some of the academic highlights we know there are many other success stories. We commend every member of our Class of 2023, and those who accelerated, on their achievements and contributions to our School as we wish them all the very best for the future.

Shauna Colnan
Principal, International Grammar School