House of Assembly: Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Contents

Modbury High School

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:10): This year's SACE results have been outstanding and nowhere more so than Modbury High, and this school's results need to be highlighted not only because it is located within the seat of Florey, nor because it is a public school but because of the depth of achievement of the class of 2015.

This follows on from the remarkable results achieved by Tajwar Tahabub who received a score of 99.95, one of the state's top students in 2014. All this points to great teachers and great leadership, and I am indebted to Martin Rumsby, the current principal, for the following information:

Students at Modbury High this year produced the best ever set of results and we are very proud of their efforts. Over 99 per cent of the students obtained their SACE and 98 per cent of all grades were passing grades (C- or above). Many students obtained strong tertiary achievement ranks and most have successfully transitioned to tertiary courses or employment. These outcomes reflect positively on the dedication and skill of the students, the expertise and commitment of their teachers, not just in year 12 but throughout their schooling and [of course] the support received from home.

Mrs Kiri McWaters was and continues to be the SACE Coordinator and Mr Glen McKie is the year 12 Manager. The school community formally recognised the outstanding achievement of many students from the 2015 year 12 class at the Celebration and Achievement Ceremony on Thursday 18 February, which I was very proud to attend, along with the Mayor of Tea Tree Gully who himself this week received a 98.1 per cent for one-year-olds vaccinated in his council area, which was the second best result in the nation. Congratulations go to him and team leader Sherie Cooper who all thanked their great providers and the service that they give to mothers and new babies in the Tea Tree Gully area.

Getting back to Modbury High, the ceremony at the school followed the ceremony at Government House on 9 February, where His Excellency Hieu Van Le invited all students who obtained perfect scores in at least one stage 2 subject to receive their awards at Government House. A total of 13 A+ with merits were awarded to eight Modbury High Students: Alyssia Baker, William Dent, Geena Ho, Dylan Morris, Nicole Muscat, Nicholas Phillips, Jessica Scriven and Hope Stahl. Hope had the special distinction of receiving the Governor of South Australia's Commendation by receiving an A+ with merits in her five subjects, and also received the Campbell Award for Overall Excellence, which is given to the highest-achieving public school student.

The extensive list of awards is a reflection of the students' dedication towards their studies, the support and encouragement given to them by their families and the high-quality instruction given to them by all of their teachers throughout their five years at Modbury High School, and this a continuous theme at Modbury High.

It is worth noting that Hope was the only public school student to be in the elite group of top students. It is vital that funding is maintained to ensure that public schools remain able to provide the quality education they do and that we expect of them and to provide every opportunity for every student to achieve their potential. This is something that Modbury High has done, built on solid foundations, and seems well placed to maintain its level of excellence well into the future.

This year, along with the students that were named at Government House, we should also mention Gemma Burvill, Aaron Stewart, Matthew Rega, Russell Woodcock, Joshua Lamb, Christine Tran, Hayden Hayward, Loughlin Garrihy, Douglas Penny, Jack Bollmeyer, Aaron Tieu, Isiah McMillan and the other Dent twin, Joshua Dent. So, I dare say there is a great deal of competition in their house.

Our congratulations go to them all and to all other students who worked very hard to achieve their results, which collectively makes Modbury High School such a special place of learning. Modbury High has also achieved outstandingly great results in the research project. This learning develops good skills for students into the future, and the leader of that area is MsĀ Angela Stamati who, along with her colleagues, makes sure that students are well prepared for what turns out to be, in most of their cases, further education.

At Modbury High this year, 98 per cent of students who did their SACE were given tertiary offers, which is 89 students at university level and 14 at TAFE level. This is a marvellous, outstanding result for the school. We are very proud of all the school students and all the teachers who work so very hard to give them the best opportunities. We thank the teachers, along with the parents, for supporting the students in this very important year of their lives. We know it is not the only result they can be measured by, but it certainly puts them in good stead to go on to future education opportunities and employment into the future.