In an era of unprecedented change, the Bishop Druitt College Class of 2024 stands as a testament to adaptability, innovation, and human potential. Our 81 graduates have not just completed their Higher School Certificate; they've contributed and prepared for a rapidly transforming world, navigating complex challenges with creativity, resilience, and an unwavering spirit of collaboration.

This remarkable cohort has distinguished themselves regardless of the band they achieved. They've explored an impressive array of 44 diverse courses, blending on-campus experiences with online learning. Their academic journey has been characterised by intellectual curiosity, service, citizenship, and a genuine commitment to improving the world they live in, each of them with the ability to address contemporary global challenges.

The utilisation of staff mentorship has been pivotal in their growth. Under the guidance of Year Coordinator, Mrs Nicole Matthews, Director of Student Wellbeing Mrs Sue O’Connor, Director of Learning and Teaching Mr Craig Verbruggen, Careers Pathway Coordinator Mrs Janine Ryan, counsellors, chaplains, and all of their experienced and passionate teachers our support ecosystem has evolved beyond traditional pastoral care. The ten college captains and six house leaders have been instrumental in cultivating a culture of mutual respect, empowerment, and collective responsibility.

Community engagement for the Class of 2024 has been nothing short of amazing. With fundraising and sustainable community impact projects in Cambodia, the students have given to communities both locally and globally, including Shave 4 a Cure, Movember, and Warrina Womens Refuge. These projects reflect a generation committed to practical, meaningful social transformation.

The pathway to tertiary education has been uniquely navigated by this cohort. Working closely with Career Pathway Coordinator Mrs Janine Ryan, students have secured an impressive 70% early entry success rate. But beyond mere numbers, these offers represent carefully curated personal journeys. Standout achievements include Jaskirit Khunkhun with over five early entry offers, several students with medical interviews, and Mahi Khobragade with four offers prior to sitting the HSC.

Academic excellence has been at the forefront of our Extension subjects, with BDC offering six extension courses across English, Mathematics, Science and History. Our Extension programs have seen an extraordinary 67% of students achieving E4 and E3 bands (28 for the Class of 2024, and 13 for our Accelerated students).

Bishop Druitt College has always believed in education as a transformative experience, not just an academic exercise. Our approach goes beyond conventional learning models, emphasising critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and global citizenship. We've provided our students with a toolkit for navigating an increasingly complex and unpredictable world through our elective programs that range from Kaizen for Years 5-8, and World Options for Years 9-10, whilst providing numerous methods of acceleration for our highly gifted learners. We aim to prepare the cohort not just for careers, but for meaningful, impactful lives.

As these graduates step into their next chapter, we anticipate not just their individual successes, but the collective impact they will generate. They represent more than an academic cohort; they are change-makers, innovators, and compassionate global citizens. As Elearnor Roosevelt said, “The world belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”, our class of 2024 have dreams that will come to fruition, and we look forward to hearing from our Alumni throughout their future pathways.

To the Class of 2024: You are not just completing a chapter, but authoring a new narrative. Your journey reflects our collective hope, demonstrating that education is about expanding horizons, challenging assumptions, and creating meaningful connections. Congratulations on your remarkable achievement – the world awaits your unique contribution.

From a cohort of 81 HSC students who completed their HSC this year:

• 99% of students received at least one Band 4 or above.
• 36 Band 6 or Notional Band 6/E4 results from the 2024 graduate cohort.
• 31 Band 5, 6, or E3/E4 results from the Years 9- 11 Accelerated (2025+ graduate) cohort. Amazing.
• 133 Band 5 and 21 E3 results with 74% of learners achieving at least one Band 5 or 6 result, from the 2024 graduate cohort.
• 78% of the cohort with Early Entry offers for uUniversity.
• Two Apprenticeships/traineeships and several students heading into external TAFE VET courses.
• All graduates met for individually tailored career appointments.
• Mia Diggens DUX with 98.15.
• Daniel Lim (Year 10 double accelerated) 96 in Mathematics Extension 2.

• TEXSTYLE 2024 - Isabelle Maybury
• Shape 2024 Selection - Isabelle Maybury for Textiles and Design
• Shape 2024 Nomination - Ella Butler for Textiles and Design
• Shape 2024 Nomination - Charlie Egan for Timber Furniture Design
• Shape 2024 Nomination - Ryan Giles for Timber Furniture Design
• Shape 2024 Nomination - Mia Kelly for Timber Furniture Design
• Shape 2024 Nomination - Jimmy Lamont for Timber Furniture Design
• Shape 2024 Nomination - Jonty Kadwell for Timber Furniture Design
• OnStage - Individual Performance - and - Individual Project - Lily Hibbard's (Monologue) Pearl
• OnStage - Group Performance - Lily Hibbard and Olivia O'Reilly's - 'Women's Business' (with Jaela Hibbard from year 11)
• Callback - Core Composition - Olivia O'Reilly
• UNE Vice-Chancellor's High Achievement Prize - Eleanor Davies, Mary Tai Hlaw
• UON Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence Scholarship - Mitchell Fahey
• SCU Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship - Madison Parkes, Indiana Baldwin
• Elevate Scholarship $30,000 - Mia Diggens
• UNSW Academic Dux Scholarship of $5,000 - Mia Diggens

ATAR Honour Board

Our students were rewarded by their efforts with Mia Diggens, Hargun Ghuman, Sharawasthi Khobragade, Betelhem Tesfamariam, Clare Kelly, Bethany Jokinen, Mala Brooks-Andren, Joshua Lim and Healey Yong achieving ATARs in the 90’s, along with almost half the cohort achieving an ATAR over 80.

Mia Diggens (2x E4, 3x Band 6 incl Notional, 2x Band 5), Hargun Ghuman (1x Band 6, 1x E3, 4x Band 5), Shrawasthi Khobragade (1x Band 6, 3x Band 5, 1x E2), Clare Kelly (1x Band 6, 1x E3, 4x Band 5), Betelhem Tesfamariam (2x Band 6 incl Notional, 1x E3, 2x Band 5), Bethany Jokinen (2x E4, 2x Band 6), Mala Brooks-Andren (3x Band 6, 1x E4, 2x Band 5), Joshua Lim (1x E4, 2x Band 6 or Notional, 1x E3, 2x Band 5) and Healey Yong (2x E4, 1x Band 6, 3x Band 5)

BDC again had a significant number of students on the distinguished achievers’ list (Band 6 or E4). A Band 6 is a score between 90-100%.

Five Band 6 or equivalent (E4 or notional Band 6) were achieved by Mala Brooks-Andren (+ 2x Band 5), Mia Diggens (+ 2x Band 5), Bethany Jokinen (+ 1x Band 5). Three Band 6’s or equivalent were achieved by Healey Yong (+ 3x Band 5). Two Band 6’s or equivalent were achieved by Betelhem Tesfamariam (+ 3x Band 5 or E3), Tabitha Follett (+ 1x Band 5), Jimmy Lamont (+ 1x Band 5), Joshua Lim (+ 3x Band 5 or E3). One Band 6 was achieved by Makenzie Davidson-Hill (+ 3x Band 5), Lyla Elkayam (+ 4x Band 5), Hargun Ghuman (+ 5x Band 5 or E3), Ryan Giles (+ 1x Band 5), Clare Kelly (+ 6x Band 5 or E3), Caitlin Kerr (+ 5x Band 5 or E3), Shrawasthi Khobragade (+ 3x Band 5), Harry Kramer (+ 1x Band 5), Isabelle Maybury (+ 1x Band 5), Jamie Nathan (+ 2x Band 5), Amy Potts (+ 2x Band 5 or E3), Katie Ray (+ 5x Band 5 or E3), and Anatoli Tsipitsidis (+ 4x Band 5).

Accelerated Success

Furthermore, our Accelerated students in Years 9 to 11 had some incredible achievements in Mathematics Advanced and Mathematics Extension 1 high potential and gifted pathway, as well as Business Studies and Studies of Religion 2. Daniel Lim (Year 10) received an E4 96 in Mathematics Extension 2, while Armaan Azad (Year 10) achieved an E3 88, both remarkable results. Our Accelerated Mathematics Extension 1 cohort received one Band E4, Zoe Gribble Tan, as well as 10x E3 from Harrison Clark, Meredith Clowes, Zoya Dryburgh, Isaac Murphy, Layla Oliver, Wes Reedy, Charlotte Ricketts, Camble Scott, Ruby Smith, and Oakley Wittman. In Accelerated Mathematics Advanced Zoya Dryburgh, Zoe Gribble Tan, Isaac Murphy, Wes Reedy, Campbell Scott, Ruby Smith, and Oakley Wittman all achieved Band 6’s, with Band 5’s by Nitish Gulgulia, Layla Oliver, and Charlotte Ricketts. In Business Studies Accelerated Holly Douglas, Jack Easter and Zoe Gribble Tan achieved Band 6’s, with Wes Reedy and Zari Dixon achieving Band 5 results. In Studies of Religion II, Olivia Gruber-Styles and Layla Oliver achieved Band 5 results. Well done to our High Potential Learners on gifted pathways through accelerated possibilities, we endeavour to support our gifted students in a variety of creative ways and we are incredibly proud of their achievements.

Other high achievers included Indiana Baldwin with 2x Band 5, Sureyya Brennan with 6x Band 5 or E3, Prue Burnett with 6x Band 5 or E3, Ella Butler with 2x Band 5, Ruben Close with 3x E3, Eleanor Davies with 4x Band 5, Matthew Deng with 1x Band 5, Asha Eagles with 3x Band 5 or E3, Charlie Egan with 2x Band 5, Maggie Elder with 2x Band 5, Stephanie Evans with 4x Band 5 or E3, Charlotte Facer with 4x Band 5 or E3, Mitchell Fahey with 1x Band 5, Chloe Featherstone with 1x Band 5, Keeley Gardner with 2x Band 5 or E3, Liam Gates with 2x Band 5, Yasmine Hains with 2x Band 5, Jasmine Hart with 2x Band 5, Finn Helliwell with 2x Band 5, Lily Hibbard with 2x Band 5, Charli Hodgson with 1x Band 5, Jasmeh Kaur with 4x Band 5 or E3, Mia Kelly with 1x Band 5, Jaskirit Khunkhun with 4x Band 5 or E3, Maria Langley with 1x Band 5, Charlie Martin with 2x Band 5, Kaitlin McFarlane with 1x Band 5, Lulu McGrath with 1x Band 5, Cooper Milham with 1x Band 5, Alex Munro with 2x Band 5, Zac Nilsson with 2x Band 5, Grace Notley with 3x Band 5 or E3, Thomas O’Connor with 4x Band 5, Salleh O’Dell with 1x Band 5, Olivia O’Reilly with 1x Band 5, Abishek Palani with 1x Band 5, Madison Parkes with 2x Band 5, Hayley Potter with 1x Band 5, Andrew Rhodes with 1x Notional Band 5, Piper Reith with 2x Band 5, Jonty Robins with 1x Band 5, Sebastian Ruiz with 1x Band 5, and Keona Stone with 3x Band 5.

Craig Verbruggen
Director of Learning and Teaching