Smiles Of Success At Smiths Hill
Illawarra Mercury
Monday January 4, 1999
Smiths Hill High School students and friends Chris Austin and Rod Smythe intend to sit back and enjoy the rest of the summer after learning they are among the state's top HSC performers.
Scoring University Admission Indexes (UAIs) of 99.80 and 99.85 respectively, the friends now are considering their futures following their better than expected results.
Both will head off to university this year but neither is entirely certain about what to study.
``I think I might do an arts/law degree at either Wollongong or Sydney but I'm not sure yet," Rod said yesterday.
Chris agreed he would probably choose a maths/law study path but couldn't say for sure whether he wanted to specialise in law.
Rod, of Corrimal, and Chris, of Figtree, were among a group of 99 top performing students who scored more than 90 per cent in each of their subjects.
NSW Education Minister John Aquilina congratulated the group at a special ceremony at Sydney's State Library yesterday.
Rod and Chris said good teachers and a flexible attitude to studying had contributed to their results which they intended to celebrate over a few drinks at the traditional HSC schoolies night at Balgownie Hotel tomorrow.
Both teenagers said they managed to combine studying with sport to ease the pressure of the gruelling workload.
``I found that if I didn't study for long periods but really took it in when I was studying, that helped more," Chris said.
``I kept up my sport playing cricket and soccer for Western Suburbs and generally taking a break from studying when I'd had enough."
Rod agreed: ``You get really fatigued if you try and sit there for long stretches. I used to get up and go for a swim or cycle or even just going down to the shops helped take the pressure off a bit."
Education and Training Department relieving director-general Dr Terry Burke said Rod and Chris had notched up wins for the public school system with their outstanding results.
``These results clearly show that young people in our schools are provided with a quality education and opportunities to make the most of their lives," Dr Burke said.
© 1999 Illawarra Mercury