Live HSC results 2016: 77,000 NSW High School students receive their marks

On that note, we are going to end our live coverage of the HSC results for today.

Thanks for joining us, we will back again tomorrow for the release of ATAR results from 9am. 

This is how you really tell the schools punching above their weight, reports Inga Ting.  

This chart shows how strongly socio-educational advantage predicts a school's success in the HSC.

There are a lot of dots, yes, but bear with me. We're about to go deep.

Here's how you read the chart.

The horizontal axis measures a school's level of advantage. Schools to the left of the chart are the least advantaged; schools to the right, the most advantaged. 

The vertical axis shows how well a school performed in the HSC. Schools at the bottom did worse, schools at the top did the best.

The black dotted trend line shows roughly where you would expect a school to perform given it's level of advantage. The way it curves from bottom-left to top-right shows the least advantaged schools tend to do worse in the HSC and the most advantaged schools do best in the HSC.

Now here's how you tell the real stars of the HSC. 

The schools positioned above the black dotted line are the ones punching above their weight. The further above the line they are, the more they're exceeding expectations.

This year, the schools smashing expectations include:

• Non-selective public school Canley Vale 
• Selective schools St George Girls and Hurlstone Agricultural
• Partially-selective Sefton
• Non-government schools Al-Faisal and Red Bend Catholic

And that's just to name a handful. As the chart shows, there are literally dozens of schools across the state achieving HSC results as good as, or even better than, schools with much higher levels of advantage.

Matthew Winfred is only 16-years-old, but he is already top of the state in maths.

The year 10 student received his final HSC results for 2 unit and 3 unit Maths this morning.

The accelerated maths student didn't sound surprised when he told Victoria Ticha his perfect score,100.

"I've always enjoyed maths, but it was important to break up studying during the exams, I like swimming and playing tennis, and by managing my time effectively, I really wasn't at all stressed." 

The 16-year-old wasn't under as much pressure as most HSC students, he's got two more years of school to get through before he sits his last HSC exam.

As for university, he's keeping his options open. "I guess I haven't really decided, I'd like to get into Engineering or Commerce, but I'm gonna see where it takes me."

Matthew was the youngest student to receive a first in course award at yesterdays ceremony in Sydney.

And while the dedicated student hopes to relax over the holidays, enjoying a well deserved break, he'll start preparing for next year well in advance. 
 

Inga Ting goes hunting for some of the HSC's hidden gems.

Many factors contribute to a school's academic success in the HSC. But one of the strongest predictors is social and educational advantage. This includes things like parents' occupations, level of education, the school's location and the share of indigenous students.

Every year, the HSC honour roll is dominated by the schools with the most socio-educational advantage. 

But many teachers and principals are working hard to get the best results for students who come from less advantaged backgrounds. The rankings below show the top 20 schools by socio-educational advantage.

This year, the top schools among those with the lowest level of advantage were public schools Canley Vale, Bonnyrigg and Coonabarabran.

St Catherine's, Moorebank and Redbank topped the chart for schools with the second-lowest level of advantage.

Al Faisal, Parramatta Marist and Sefton took the top three spots for schools with the second-highest level of advantage.



Best mates Dominik Strbik and Eduard Geyl from Cherrybrook Technology High School have very different plans for their post-HSC lives, but they have both done well in their results today.

Eduard, who has a burgeoning career as an actor (including in SBS show Deep Water), juggled subjects including Maths Extension 2 with auditions throughout the year.

And Dominik, who studied Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Advanced English and English Extension plus Maths and Maths Extension 1, scored a Band 6 in every single subject, putting him in the All Rounders and Distinguished Achievers merit lists, as well as the box seat for his preferred course: Advanced Science at the University of Sydney. Even though he came 18th in the state in Advanced English.

"They are the more high calibre subjects," he says, "but I didn't pick them for scaling, I picked them because that's what appealed to me. I was willing to put in the effort for those subjects, because it's leading me to the pathway of what i want to do at uni."

Eduard, who came to Australia from the Ukraine with his family as a child, plans to study acting at Screenwise in Surry Hills.

"My background is completely academic, all my family members are engineers - geophysicists. When I said I wanted to do acting my parents were like 'what's that?'

"They've always been very supportive. The reason they came to Australia was because they wanted to give us opportunities they previously didn't have. So they understood there were things they hadn't met before. I'm very lucky. It took a while!

Now that you have the final marks for your subjects, you're probably dying to get your ATAR, which is due out tomorrow from 9am. 

If you haven't guesstimated your mark yet - you've probably tried one of these online ATAR calculators, like the Matrix Education's calculator or the Talent 100's Atar calculator.  

But just how accurate are they? Victoria Ticha finds out. 

This year, a record number of 55,961 students are eligible for an ATAR.

According to Dj Kim, the managing director at Matrix Education, more than 40,000 have already visited the Matrix calculator online.

"We use algorithms and mathematical equations using what data we have from UAC, from last year's scaling, to calculate the results." 

The margin of error is 0.05, said Mr Kim. 

"We use mathematical formulas, compared to tables. Imagine entering numbers into a calculator, compared to trying to figure out the results using a multiplications timetable. " 

ATAR calculators will use data from the previous year's HSC to predict your final result.

If there are no extreme changes between your year and the year before, it will be close, but if there are large changes, it will give you a false result. 

You should take the estimates with a grain of salt, says Kim Paino, the general manager of marketing and engagement at UAC. 

"I'd recommend not using them, but if you have to, just remember it's not the real thing. It might raise you're expectations and you could be left disappointed," Ms Paino said.  

Let's not mince words, boys have taken a walloping in this year's HSC.

A gender breakdown of Band 6 scores (that's scores of 90 or above) shows girls outperformed boys in 70 per cent of courses.

Boys only outpaced girls in 22 per cent (or just over one in five) courses.

The two were were neck-and-neck (that is, within 5 per cent of one another) in 8 per cent of courses.

While girls are excelling more and more often in traditionally male-dominated subjects, boys are still hanging on to chemistry, economics and the higher-level maths subjects.

Destiny Kynuna grew up in Yarrabah, a remote Indigenous community in far-north Queensland, witnessed the scourge of alcohol and drug addiction. 

On Thursday, the registered nurse was accepted into UNSW to study medicine, after completing the three-week Pre-Medicine program.

Destiny, who has five sisters, is believed to be the first person from Yarrabah to train as a doctor, there are only 260 Indigenous doctors in Australia, according to UNSW. 

"I think I can make more change in my community by becoming a doctor," she said.

"My ultimate goal is to work in mental health."

Destiny is one of 10 students who successfully completed UNSW's three-week intensive Pre-Medicine program, an alternative entry pathway for Indigenous students that they can undertake long after they have finished high school. 

High school students, undergraduate and postgraduate students or mature age students who best meet the selection criteria, including evidence of academic capability, are considered for entry to the program. 

Here it is, the full honour roll for 2016.

Type your name, your friends name, your cousins name, your cousins friends name, you throw in your brothers name and your childs name too. 

If they nailed their HSC this year and they finished a subject with a band 6 or landed a spot on the all rounders list - they will be here. 

Search for them here: 

Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Dr Michael Spence, has some advice for students who are worried they might have fallen short of their perfect ATAR.

"If you didn't get the marks you need to get into that particular course at that particular institution, remember these days there are many alternative routes."

And for those high-achievers contemplating a degree choice for reasons other than their passion for it, he has this word of warning, or encouragement:

"I think the great danger with the whole ATAR system is that people regard ATAR points as frequent flyer points, that you have to use them all otherwise it's a waste. But if your passion is for ancient history you ought to be studying ancient history, because at the end of it what you get from a university education is great critical thinking skills, and skills in effective oral and written communication. Those skills are relevant no matter what you might want to do.

"Make sure you're doing what you love and not just what you think you have to spend the ATAR points on. 

"We know that lots of our current students are going to be working not only in careers that haven't been invented yet but in industries that haven't been invented yet."

"Congratulations for getting this far, commiserations if you didn't do quite as well as you wanted. Either way: chill."

Sometimes it's hard to tell who is more excited about school results, the students or their parents, reports Filip Stempien

Andreas Orsmond woke up today to see his dad trying to take his phone to find out his HSC results.

"They were extremely thrilled and very congratulatory which was nice because they know how much work I put in" Andreas said.

Andreas was out with friends when he found out he came first in Geography and said the key to success in the HSC is pacing and working hard all year round.

"The whole HSC was very hard ... putting in a few hours a day at the start of the year and maintaining that, helped a lot during the exam period," he said.

Andreas hopes to get an ATAR of 95 to get into the Advanced Science course at the University of Sydney and work in medical research.   

Andreas scored 95 in English Advanced, 98 in Math Extension 1, 95 in Maths Extension 2, 96 in Biology, 95 in Chemistry and 98 in Geography.

Here's another way of looking at the biggest moves within the top 20 of 2015 and 2016.

This chart ranks the schools from biggest climbs to biggest falls, and also shows the school's sector, as shown by Inga Ting. 

Wenona was the rising queen of 2016, picking up 17 spots, while fellow girls schools Abbotsleigh, and Queenwood all suffered losses on last years results, along with Bondi Junction based Moriah. 

If you're wondering why you've waited all this time to get your HSC marks and now you have to wait another whole day to get your ATAR, this is what the head of BOSTES, Tom Alegounarias, said this morning on the subject:

"The ATAR is a different calculation to the HSC result. The HSC is a mark against stable, objective benchmarks, it's not a relative judgement, not a ranking. So when we've got 1 per cent more kids getting a band 6 this year, it's 1 per cent more who deserve it. Then there's your ATAR which is your ranking designed by universities for a different purpose, and that as we know is in a state of flux. It's just the day's difference, and maintaining the distinction has served us well. But kids will have a pretty good inkling of what their ATAR will be now." 

Natalie Lee spent the morning huddled in her parents bedroom, surrounded by her family, after she awoke at 6am to find the text message which revealed her HSC results, a whopping 100 per cent in 2 unit Math, 100 per cent in Maths Extension One, 98 in English and 98 in Biology.

The Baulkham Hills High School student already smashed her 2 unit Music in violin two years ago, giving her ample time to study for her remaining subjects, which she "enjoyed equally"and "in the end, did almost better than I had hoped".

On Wednesday, Natalie celebrated topping the state in 2 unit maths at the First in Course ceremony, along with 124 students from across NSW who received their awards from the Education Minister Adrian Piccoli.

When she first got the call from the Board of Studies announcing the good news, she was in Melbourne and did a "little happy dance".

There's no doubt she will continue this dance until her ATAR is released tomorrow.

She admits she's nervous, but not too stressed.

After receiving today's outstanding HSC results, she is confident she'll get into Medicine and isn't fussed about which university she ends up in. 

Some of her school friends might well be joining her after Baulkham Hills came second overall in the state this year. 

Redfield College in Dural was the fastest-rising star of this year's top 100, rocketing 199 places to 59th, from 258th in 2015.

Mount St Patrick climbed 137 places to land at 77th and Parramatta Marist gained 86 places to scrape into the top 10 at 96th.

Masada fell out of the top 30, dropping 50 places to land at 74th. Canberra Grammar dropped 45 places to land at 98th, while Strathfield Girls fell 33 places, coming 99th in this year's rankings.

The results of every single school in this year's HSC across NSW has been pulled into our interactive. 

How did your school rate this year? 

Find out here

Here are the biggest movers and shakers within the prestigious top 20 since last year, reports Inga Ting. 

The rising stars this year are Wenona (gained 17 places) Normanhurst Boys (gained 14 places) and Reddam House and Conservatorium, which both leapt nine places into this year's top 10.

The biggest falls this year went to PLC (Croydon), which plunged 16 places and out of the top 20, Girraween, which dropped 12 places to fall out of the top 10, and Sydney Girls, which has historically come within the top 5, but this year dropped 10 places, from 3rd to 13th.

For those of you wondering about the other 879 high schools in the state, many of whom have had some exceptional results, don't worry - the full list is just around the corner. 

Selective school James Ruse Agricultural High School has taken out 1st spot for the 21st consecutive year, with an extraordinary 73 per cent of exams taken at the school scoring in the highest band. 

Perennial top ten finishers Baulkham Hills in north-west Sydney came in second spot, while North Sydney Boys took out third, just pipping their neighbours North Sydney Girls. 

Sydney Grammar was the top private school at number 6, while Cheltenham Girls was the highest ranked comprehensive public school in the top 100, coming in at number 53. 

The time has come.

Here is the list of the highest ranking schools in NSW, as compiled by the Herald's data journalist Inga Ting. 

You can filter the results by selective, non-government and government schools. 

Yesterday I met Hicham, a HSC student with a truly inspiring story. 

At the age of 14 Hicham fled Homs, a city the Syrian civil war has turned to rubble; at 16 he waited in a refugee camp thinking only of water and the food he could not eat.

On Wednesday, two years after he arrived on Australian shores, he came first in his HSC course.

I called him on Thursday morning to see how the rest of his results turned out. 

"I got more than what I expected," he said. "I will go straight into university, hopefully for my first preference, Medical Science at the University of Sydney." 

"My family is really happy, now we are waiting for the ATAR tomorrow," he said. 

Read the full story here.