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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-11-18 Daily Xml
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Wiltja Year 12 Students

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:21): Today marks the final exams for more than 20,000 year 12 students sitting their stage 2 SACE. On Monday evening, I attended the Wiltja graduation ceremony, where nine Aboriginal students graduated. They boarded at Wiltja in my electorate of Torrens for varying lengths of time—some for five years, others for only a year. Their schooling took place at Windsor Gardens Secondary College, where they completed stages 1 and 2 of SACE, and also at Woodville High School, where many of them completed years 8 to 10.

Listening to their stories on the night and the challenges they faced leaving family and friends behind while they studied in Adelaide and the way Wiltja became their Adelaide home and family and saw them through was inspirational, as were the many success stories told by former graduates of Wiltja who now are out in the workforce and universities. These students came from across South Australia and the Northern Territory, including the APY lands, Alice Springs and outlying communities, including Papunya and Engawala.

Today, I recognise the Wiltja graduates for 2015. I congratulate them for their significant achievements. I also acknowledge their dedicated teachers and the staff at Wiltja and the sacrifices many of their families made in supporting them on their journey. Completion of year 12 marks the end of the formal school years before embarking on a path to university, TAFE, trade training or entry to the workforce.

As the parent of a year 12 student and as a former teacher, I know some of the challenges these students and their parents may have faced throughout the year. I have spoken to so many who embarked on this journey in 2015 and others who have taken it in previous years. All have their own stories to tell, and while year 12 is a significant year in the school life of our young people, it is not definitive as to how they will fare into the future. It is not the be all and end all, and it is important that the students who have now sat their exams understand this. There are many options available to them. They need to seek out the path that best suits them.

Last night, Windsor Gardens Secondary College had their senior school presentation night. Unfortunately, as the parliament sat until midnight, I was not able to attend, so today I send my congratulations too to the 2015 year 12 graduates from Windsor Gardens Secondary College. This year's year 12 students must now wait to see the outcome of their efforts. There are a number of options available to those completing their SACE, whether or not they achieve their desired ATAR.

For those wanting to get into a university course for which they did not achieve the required ATAR, pathway options may include sitting the STAT, the Special Tertiary Admissions Test. Another option may be accepting a position in a course offered, working hard to get a high great point average and using that to apply for entry to another course.

Embarking on a University of South Australia one year fee-free Foundation Studies course where students learn the skills required for successful university study is another option available. On completion of the program, they can then use their grade point average to apply for entry into a university degree or into the second year of a UniSA college diploma. Students need to look at the SACE, SATAC and university websites for more information about all of the options available, and they really should discuss these with their parents.

Finally, students across the state will be able to access their results from 8.30am on Tuesday 15 December through Students Online. As a result of the separation of electronic results and the delivery of printed certificates and other documentation, students, families and schools will have more time to access any necessary support and clarification before Christmas.

Official documentation will be posted to students progressively from Tuesday 15 December and they will be able to print an unofficial copy of the Record of Achievement directly from Students Online. Given that results will be released first electronically, students are requested to log into Students Online as early as possible to avoid any unnecessary delay in accessing results and to make sure their PIN works prior to the results release date.

This is an exciting time for students and it may also be quite daunting. They are likely to face many challenges into the future, but this is a time they should really celebrate. I congratulate all year 12 students who have this year successfully completed their SACE, and their parents as well for the journey that they too took with them.

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