Unlike most year 12 students, St Joseph’s College dux Cameron Elphingstone found his final year of secondary school “quite easy”.
Cameron, who received an ATAR of 99.75, spread his Unit 3/4 subjects over three years rather than one, completing general mathematics in 2022 with a study score of 45 in year 10 and scoring 42 for biology in year 11.
That left him only four subjects for 2024. Cameron scored 48 in mathematical methods , 45 for chemistry, 44 in English and 40 for specialist mathematics.
“I had only four subjects, so I had quite a lot of free periods scattered throughout the day,” Cameron said.
“I got to go home at lunchtime on Monday and Wednesday, so I had tons and tons of time to do whatever I wanted and spend more time on a subject I was struggling on.
“So I found that not nearly as stressful as a lot of people did, and quite cruisey, to be honest. It made my life a lot easier in year 12.”
Cameron said an atmosphere of friendly competition with his friends helped keep him focused and motivated.
“For instance, the dux of Sacred Heart, I had her in two of my classes throughout the whole year,” he said.
“We were trying to outdo each other on every test, see who was going to get the best score at the end of the year.”
Cameron said he had not decided what he would pursue in the future, but was considering careers in medicine and teaching.
