Message from Vicki Steer, Principal

I am very pleased to be able to inform our community of the outstanding results and pathway placements of our first cohort of Year 12 students. Results were announced in December and offers of tertiary places were made in January.

In 2013 students planned their individual VCE programs to articulate into their future career pathways. Then they set out to study and work hard, with the support of staff and families to achieve the results they needed to access those pathways.

There is a story behind every result and every destination. Some of the stories involve good organisation and hard work capitalising on natural ability while other stories involve overcoming problems and issues, with support of many people along with determination and hard work, to attain a place on their chosen pathway. We are so proud of every individual and every story.

Placements and destinations

The young men and women of the class of 2015 are about to embark on the next stage of their journey of lifelong learning. Students had applied for entry to tertiary courses through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC), which in most cases used the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) to select students for courses (see the Appendix for information on the ATAR and the VCE). Much time effort and thought was put into students ordering their preferences for courses that would launch them on their career pathway and we thank parents and staff for their support of the students and in particular, Mr Keith Maughan our Careers Counsellor for his expert advice, guidance and support.

Of the 16 students applying for tertiary courses through the VTAC, 15 have received a first round offer of tertiary placement and 9 students received their first preference, see pie chart below.

First Round VTAC Tertiary Placement Offers

VCE-Offers-Pie-Chart

Tertiary Institution

VCE-Tertiary-Institutions-Pie-Chart

Tertiary Study

VCE-Tertiary-Study-Pie-Chart

Courses and pathways that students are embarking on include: Journalism, Law/Arts, Event Management, Engineering/Arts, Agricultural Sciences, Business, Engineering, Business/Arts, Building Design, Sport Development, Psychology, Engineering/Science, Massage/Myotherapy, Hospitality, and International Studies. The range of courses and pathways reflects the range of talents, passions and interests of our students. We are sure they will go on to make a difference in their chosen career or careers over their lifetime. We wish them well and will watch their development over the next several years.

Student results and analysis

Every student successfully completed and received their VCE. In delivering a VCE Program, Beyond Boundaries, we are proud of the offering of personalised courses and can report on the following:

  • All 17 students successfully completed their Year 12 VCE to receive their Victorian Certificate of Education
  • 16 Year 12 students sat the Units 3 & 4 examinations for VCE at Cornish College in 2015
  • 3 Year 12 students completed a study via Distance Education
  • 7 Year 11 students undertook an accelerated study and completed Global Politics Units 3 & 4
  • With the small class sizes, 11 Partnerships were formed with other schools to provide moderation for assessment tasks
  • One student sat a scored Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) program in Sport and Recreation Certificate III, externally delivered and assessed.

Bearing in mind that a cohort of just 16 students who completed examinations and received study scores does not allow significant statistical analysis, I am very pleased to share the following highlights of the students’ results:

  • The highest ATAR result achieved by a Cornish College student was 98.7
  • 12.5% gained an ATAR of 95 or above, placing them in the top 5% in the state
  • 25% gained an ATAR of greater than 90, placing them in the top 10% in the state
  • 44% gained an ATAR of greater than 80 or above placing them in the top 20% in the state
VCE-ATAR-Grapht
Figure above shows the distribution  ATARs attained by students in  2015 VCE

 

  • The median score of all study scores was 31 while the State median is 30
  • There were 29 VCE studies at Units 3&4 level taken by the small cohort
  • The newspapers did not classify Cornish College as a small school (20 or fewer students enrolled in at least one VCE unit at levels 3 & 4), as the Year 11 enrolments in Units 3&4 Global Politics meant we had 24 students enrolled in at least one VCE Unit at level 3&4. For small schools, much care is required in interpreting their results as the overall results may be significantly affected by the results of one or two students
  • One student was awarded the inaugural VCE Baccalaureate for studies in English, Mathematics and a Language with scores above set values
  • 15.3% of the subject scores were 40 or above, which is in the top 9% of the state
  • 15 of the external assessments had a mean above the state mean

I would also like to acknowledge the consistent support, guidance and care the teaching staff at Cornish College provide to the students. I thank them for their unending efforts; not only in 2015, but throughout the students’ years at Cornish where the strong foundation for this final stage of their schooling is laid.

2016 and beyond

On behalf of the College, I congratulate the students in Year 12 who completed the Victorian School Certificate examinations in 2015 and extend our very best wishes for the next stage of their lives. We now look forward to supporting our second cohort of VCE students in 2016.

Vicki Steer
Principal