AUSMAT High Achievers’ Awards Ceremony 2018

In commemorating the Australian Matriculation (AUSMAT) High Achievers’ Awards Ceremony at Sunway College, another milestone was crossed for the AUSMAT high achievers of 2017 as they took to the stage to receive their certificates and book prizes. This auspicious event was graced by Ms Bernadine Caruana; Counsellor (Education and Science) in the Australian Department of Education and Training, Ms Petronila Maurice; Deputy Director in the Department of Education and Training of the Australian High Commission Kuala Lumpur, Ms Janet Liew; representative from Edith Cowan University, directors within the Sunway Education Group, as well as proud parents and family members of these students.

Over the past 30 years, AUSMAT has truly grown by leaps and bounds in the number of student enrolments, as well as levels of achievement in the Western Australian Certificate of Education examinations. In 2017, there were nearly 30% of students achieving an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 90 and above, making them eligible to enter some of the world’s top universities, such as the University of Yale, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Manchester, University of Auckland, National University of Singapore, Monash University and more.

Some of the remarkable accomplishments of the 2017 AUSMAT cohort include a Special Subject Award for the top student obtaining the highest examination mark in Business Management and Enterprise, as well as 11 Special Subject Certificate of Excellence awards for students in the top 0.5 per cent of candidates based on the examination mark in subjects such as Accounting and Finance, Business Management and Enterprise, English as an Additional Language and Dialect, Human Biology and Mathematics Applications.

In his speech on behalf of the AUSMAT student council of 2017, Alantino, who was the vice-president said that his “180-degree-life-turner would probably be this very decision to join AUSMAT”. He went on to thank his lecturers who have been instrumental towards his academic and personal development, with a special mention to Mr Tan Pei Yen, his Physics lecturer. As an advice to the incoming students of 2018, he emphasised on time management skills, and making new friends in AUSMAT. Quoting from a street poet and philosopher Drake at the end of his speech, “sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination”.