The Joy of the ‘Individual Lift’

It is hard to believe we are already into May and most of our Year 12 students are now working on their final internal assessments, their IA3. Some IA3s will be submitted by the end of Term 2 and others early Term 3, at which point our focus changes to Mock and External Exams. As we move through these well traversed waters, our senior teachers and students certainly have their eye on achieving their best outcomes, and we are positively looking forward to seeing what they can achieve and where they will go.

Supporting our Year 12s on this final leg of their journey, is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our year. At this time, I cannot help but to reflect over the last five years, where we have celebrated many outstanding results from our different cohorts. You may recall, in 2025, we had 3 ATARS of 99.95, 14% ATAR 99+, 46% 95+, 65% 90+ and 91% 80+. These are outstanding results and worthy of honouring, but underlying these results is a far more important story.

Our senior results are an important indicator of student success, but what they really represent is years of careful teaching, strong relationships, and a focus on deep understanding. From foundational skills and disciplinary knowledge in the middle years to sophisticated analytical thinking in the senior years, students are well prepared to meet challenges with confidence. When students reach Year 12, they are not just exam-ready – they are confident thinkers, tackling their study with a tenacity that reflects a culmination of years of support, encouragement and a commitment to our students that we never give up on what is possible for every one of them. We will not accept for any student a predetermined ATAR or end goal.

What is perhaps less known in our community, but something we are deeply proud of is our ability to ‘lift’ all students’ results by the end of Year 12. This is not about those high 99+ ATARs, but around students who work consistently alongside their teachers, fine tuning years of learning, forging a greater resolve, determination, and focus. In 2025, for example, 25% of Year 12 moved an ATAR based on Year 11 results, between 15 to 30 marks. While I cannot share details and background to these individual stories, the outcome for these students is immense, leading them into dream courses and pathways that will enable them the possibilities of an enriched future and professional career of their choice.

But these results do not just happen. Just as there is no such thing as overnight success outside the College gates, the same is true inside Somerset where academic achievement takes time.

These results reflect a significant portion of the Year 12 cohort choosing to study complex subjects. Led by passionate experts and a knowledge rich curriculum leading into Year 11 and 12, it is obvious our students have formed a deep love of the Sciences and Mathematics. They enter these subjects with a depth of foundational knowledge that provides the springboard for the level of thinking critically which is required for senior years. With six classes of Math Methods, 3 classes of Specialist Math, 4 classes of Chemistry and 4 classes of Physics, our outstanding State results for all students demonstrates a remarkable achievement and reflects student intellectual curiosity, discipline, and commitment to deep understanding. Our students love of their STEM subjects, like Engineering, Chemistry and Physics, enable them to develop evidence-based reasoning, quantitative literacy, and respect for truth grounded in observation and testing. These skills enable students to evaluate information critically on their external exams, but even more importantly, allow then to engage respectfully with differing perspectives, and act with ethical responsibility – essential qualities for leadership and service in a global context.

We turn to the Arts/Humanities where our senior subjects such as Literature, English, Philosophy and Economics further grow this capacity to engage with complex concepts and to think analytically under pressure. We focus on supporting our students to approach challenges with humility and persistence. This speaks not only to academic ability, but to the habits of thinking and learning that are developed over time. This exemplifies the qualities Somerset seeks to foster in all students, preparing them to engage thoughtfully within an increasingly complex and polarised world.

Enhancing the delivery of our curriculum, our students can engage in free tuition every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. This tutoring is open to all students Years 10 to 12 and is well attended. Individually, students are supported to grasp and deal with challenges, building a confidence and resilience that is required for personal success in Year 12.

This individual care is not limited to after school tuition. Intentionally built into our timetable, every Thursday Week B, students can elect two tutorials in subjects of their choice, enabling them to further refine their subject knowledge. Students regulate their own learning journey identifying areas they require additional support. It is this inner drive for genuine understanding that also motivates those impressive individual results.

Our teachers also work with students through their breaks, unpacking drafts or reteaching complex strategies or concepts. Their generosity in supporting their students is a hallmark of a Somerset education and demonstrates their own determination to ensure students have every opportunity to achieve their best result. I know, come the September holidays our Year 12 teachers will hold well attended subject workshops further supporting students to take on their external exams with a confidence and focus.

Our Year 12 students also have the option of attending our Thursday evening Study Dinners. Held in the Year 12 Common Room, over three hours, students work side by side, (teachers on hand ready to explain concepts, assessments, or practice exam questions,) collaborating and supporting each other, working through the complex, and building strategies, skills and enhanced understandings. We have built a culture of ‘stronger together.’ This year we have had over 50 students and staff attend each dinner and next term we look forward to inviting our Year 11 students to join us. This is simply another spoke in the wheel of a strong scholarly community that is at the heart of the College.

Of course, student success requires more than an academic focus. Our students are nurtured through a holistic, layered approach to pastoral care, where the warmth and care of each student, the uniting of the cohort and a strong sense of belonging and community give our students a strength of character and confidence to challenge and grow their understandings and the resilience to succeed from failure.

As we close in on mid-year, and our Year 12 move closer toward their final assessments, we will continue to weave a rich tapestry reflecting the interconnected fabric of our scholarly pursuits, empowering all students the opportunity for intellectual and personal growth. While we are not at the end yet, I can assure you, what we look forward to the most, is the ‘individual lift,’ for there is no greater reward than seeing our students succeed.