Parkes Christian School is celebrating another year of fantastic HSC results, with their Compressed Curriculum structure being of huge benefit to their students, resulting in the best overall results for the school in its history. Almost a quarter of all results across the entire HSC cohort were Band 5 or 6 results, which is an outstanding result. Compressed Curriculum sees students sit three HSC subjects when they are in Year 11, followed by another three in Year 12. This structure allows students to focus on fewer subjects at a time, with double the amount of class time provided for each subject. This intensive pattern of study means that students have far better recall of course content during their exams. In their 10th year of delivering the HSC, the school is very proud of the results achieved by their 2024 cohort. All students who applied for university Early Entry schemes were successful in securing positions, while other students have already moved into employment or traineeships. Students achieved the highest percentage of Band 5 and 6 results in a single year for the school, coming in English Advanced and Extension, Agriculture, Community and Family Studies, Drama, Design and Technology, PDHPE and Physics. Among the Year 12 students who completed their studies this year, Matilda Wilson performed very well in English, with an E3 in Extension 1, and receiving the highest mark ever awarded at PCS in the extremely challenging Extension 2 course. Abigail Heard showcased her creative talents by adding to her Band 5 in Music last year by also receiving a Band 5 in Drama and an E3 in Extension 1 English. Marcus Moss was rewarded with a Band 5 for his innovative Board Game in Design and Technology, while Mitchell Unger also received a Band 5 in the same subject for his automated waterskiing winch design. Georgina Greenland also received a well-deserved Band 5 in Community and Family Studies, while Xavier McDonald rounded out an excellent year for the Year 12 group with an E3 in Extension 1 English. A number of Year 11 students have set themselves up for outstanding HSC success, especially Chloe Amery, Angelique Bland and Josh King who received either Band 5 or 6 results for all three of their subjects. Chloe scored a Band 6 in Agriculture, and Band 5 in English Advanced and Design and Technology, Angelique received the same results for English and Design and Technology, while also receiving a Band 6 for Drama, and Josh received a Band 5 for English Advanced and Physics, while doing brilliantly well to receive a Band 6 in Design and Technology. Other Year 11 students to excel and receive Band 5 results were Mia Baker (Community and Family Studies, and PDHPE), Oliver Mayo (Design and Technology), Addison Lewer (Community and Family Studies, and Drama) and Charli Gould (Drama) These students will complete the second half of their HSC in 2025. Stage 6 Coordinator Greg Ballantyne is thrilled with the results. “As a school we are really pleased for our HSC students. Their results are the product of many hours of hard work and dedication,” he said. “Our entire cohort has done extremely well and managed the challenges of the HSC so well. But more importantly they have all developed strong character and been able to achieve their goals. “Every student who applied for early entry to university received an offer, maintaining our 100 per cent record over the past nine years. “We work hard as a staff to give our students the best possible opportunities to succeed, so it is nice to see them taking those opportunities. “But at the end of the day, it is the students who have done the hard work and need to take all the credit for their achievements. We’re just there to help them along the way. “The thing I’m most pleased with is that every student seemed to be very happy throughout their HSC, enjoyed being at school, had time to pursue other interests and hobbies, and learned a lot about being people of good character and integrity. These are the things that will stay with them throughout their lives.”
