From the Director of Teaching and Learning

Over the last two weeks, we have enjoyed connecting with students and families across Years 9 to 12 at the Information Evenings and through the Year 12 Senior Year Zoom meetings. We look forward to meeting with the Year 10 families in Term 2 as students navigate their subject selection choices in preparation for Years 11 and 12. 

Results and tertiary offers for the 2021 Year 12 cohort have been finalised and I am delighted to share below some highlights. 

Overall ATAR Results

• 8% of ATAR candidates obtained an ATAR greater than or equal to 99
• 21% of ATAR candidates obtained an ATAR greater than or equal to 95
• 43% of ATAR candidates obtained an ATAR greater than or equal to 90
• 66% of ATAR candidates obtained an ATAR greater than or equal to 80

Clayfield College’s highest ATAR result in 2021 was 99.90. Our Median ATAR was 88

Seven of our students will receive an Academic Commendation from the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) to receive an A grade in 6 General Subjects.

Our 2021 DUX, Cara Siren, will receive a Queensland Certificate of Education Achievement Award. This award is for students who, in being awarded a QCE, demonstrate exceptionally high achievement across a diverse range of learning options. 

ATAR Subject Results

The 2021 cohort generated 330 subject results out of which 73% were either an A or a B. Looking at the subject data significant performances were achieved in;

• Chemistry, English, General Mathematics, Geography, Japanese, Music Extension and Psychology, with these subjects achieving close to double the state average for percentage of As
• Business and Music, which achieved close to two and a half times the state average for percentage of As

Vocational Education

We had 22 students complete VET Certificate qualifications and Diploma courses:

• 5 students completed AQF Certificate III or IV
• 17 students completed AQF Diploma

Tertiary Study

Tertiary Offers

• 82% of students received their first QTAC preference
• 95% of students received either their first or second preference  

Scholarships 

• 2 students were offered Excellence Scholarships at Bond
• 1 student received the Bond Indigenous Scholarship 
• 1 student received the Hansen Scholarship and National Merit Scholarship at the University of Melbourne (Bachelor of Science/ Master of Engineering) 
• 1 student received the PMSA Teacher Education scholarship 
• 1 student received the Samuel Griffith Scholarship at Griffith University (Bachelor of Biomedicine/Doctor of Medicine 

Early offers 

• Bachelor of Nursing Science at University of Sunshine Coast
• Bachelor of Business Administration / Bachelor of Global Studies at ACU
• Bachelor of Nursing at ACU
• Bachelor of Music: Double Bass at Griffith University Conservatorium of Music
• Bachelor of Communication (Advertising and Public Relations) at QUT
• Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Communication (Digital Media) at QUT
• Bachelor of Property Economics at QUT
• Bachelor of Aviation at Griffith University
• Bachelor of Science at Griffith University

Celebrating our 2021 Graduates

We are incredibly proud of the Class of 2021, and we applaud the hard work they put into achieving these outstanding results. We were privileged to have four of our 2021 graduates join us via Zoom at the recent Year 11 and 12 Information Evening: Cara Siren, Jacinta Fitzgerald, Ella Craddock and Winnie Ma. They shared aspects of their senior learning journey and offered some invaluable advice to our current Year 11 and 12 students, some snippets of which are included below:

Cara Siren 

Cara will be studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with guaranteed entry into Medicine at the University of Melbourne.

“Treat every subject like you are preparing for an exam tomorrow; always be up to date. Get enough sleep, identify which sleep pattern works best for you and stick to that. Give the best to whatever you are doing: if you are studying, give it your all, and if you are having fun, then give that your best too. Always understand why you are studying something how it links to the real world, don’t just try to memorise things without understanding the relevance. Set high expectations for yourself. Aim for the moon; even if you miss, you will land among the stars.”

Jacinta Fitzgerald

Jacinta will be studying a Master of Engineering at the University of Melbourne.

“It is not how long you spend on a subject that matters; what really matters is how long your mind enters that subject. Time is your most important asset in Years 11 and 12. Use your time wisely. Do the best that you can with what you have and where you are. Do not be hard on yourself. Although there will be times when you get overwhelmed with it all, do the best that you can, and things will work out in the end. Disappointments will happen, but you cannot dwell on these. Do the best you can to improve, put in the effort, and you will succeed.”

Ella Craddock 

Ella will be studying Biomedical Science at the University of Sunshine Coast.

“Try to look at some of the content before it is covered in class. If you are struggling with a concept, seek help, see a teacher, ask a peer. Try again the next day after taking a break. Try to do the best you can try to be the best friend you can be, be true to yourself.”

Winnie Ma

Winnie will be studying a dual degree of Engineering and Science at the University of Queensland.

“Make sure that you do not leave any questions unanswered when you finish a class, deal with them immediately, see your teacher, attend after school tutorials. Boarders, make use of the tutoring in the Boarding House, do not hesitate to seek help from tutors. Ask more questions in class as this helps with articulating your thoughts and will also benefit your peers. Finally, find a good study space, one that is quiet and has no distractions.”

We look forward to acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of all our 2021 scholars at the upcoming Scholar’s Assembly on Thursday 21 April 2022. 

Background

The Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) and the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) have different purposes:

1. ATAR – Tells us about a student’s ranking compared to all other students in the state, and its intended purpose is to assist with tertiary admission 
2. QCE – Certifies learning, showing that the individual has achieved a specific standard of education at senior level and may be considered by employers and the general community

The ATAR process involves students sitting 3 pieces of Internal Assessment (school based but endorsed by the QCAA) and then sitting an External Examination (written by the QCAA for the whole state). The weightings of the Internal and External Assessment differ depending on the subject area as indicated below:

Students receive an overall result out of 100 for each subject and are allocated a grade from A to E. The cut-offs for Grades are determined by the QCAA when they review the whole cohort’s performance and determine the brackets. These cut-offs will change from year to year depending on a cohort’s performance and are subject-specific.

The QCAA transfers all the students’ raw results to QTAC who then create scaling parameters to adjust each subject’s results to reflect rigour. A student’s ATAR is determined by combining his/her top 5 performing subjects and creating a Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA) score. This combined score thus ranks every student in the state. The ATAR allows for 2000 divisions, from 0 to 99.95, with students falling into brackets of 0.05 based on their ranking.