17 December 2018

Last Friday, thousands of students received their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) results.

Three of the 36 Victorian students who achieved the highest possible Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 99.95 were from Melbourne Catholic schools.

St Bede’s College, Mentone, student Adam Dingli; St Kevin’s College, Toorak, student Luis Fennessy; and Xavier College, Kew, student Harry Amad all attained a perfect ATAR.

Adam was woken by his mum around 7 am on Friday so she could celebrate his results with him before heading off to work. He recalls, ‘There were a couple of tears … I was sort of hoping for a good score, I knew it was a chance [for the top rank].’ After having competed in the international F1 in Schools STEM Challenge from Years 7–10 in which students design and manufacture miniature cars, Adam is now set to complete his final 20 hours of practice driving a real car before sitting for his P-plates.

Luis and Harry’s academic pursuits didn’t stop them from participating in the leadership and sporting life of their schools. Luis was a Prefect and Deputy House Captain, as well as a member of the 2nd XI cricket team and opens football. Harry was also a Prefect and member of the College Consult, as well as the Captain of Boats and member of the 3rd XVIII.

Adam and Harry have been offered a Melbourne Chancellor’s Scholarship to study at the University of Melbourne next year. The scholarship offers students HECS-exempt undergraduate degrees and a $5,000 annual allowance for the duration of the degree.