Matt Hewson
A Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College (MFG) student has been recognised for her outstanding results in 2023.
Year 12 MFG student Sonnet Pandit was presented with a Premier’s VCE Award at a ceremony in Melbourne last week for her Extended Investigation study score of 48, the second highest in the state for the subject last year.
Requiring significant research into an original topic, Extended Investigation involves students preparing a 4000-word report and oral presentation.
Sonnet chose to explore the interconnections between authors Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf from a feminist perspective.
She said she was “thrilled” and “ecstatic” to receive the Premier’s Award.
“My investigation was looking at the extent to which the feminist representation of women has changed from the writing of Jane Austen to Virginia Woolf,” Sonnet said.
“I chose to investigate this topic firstly because I’m a feminist, and Woolf and Austin both have a profound influence on me as somebody who would call themselves a feminist.
“They were both the front runners of the feminist movement of their respective eras, and it occurred to me that it would be interesting to see if there was a relationship between Austin and Woolfe regarding feminism.
“And when I started looking into the literature, I found that there was limited research. So I thought it would be a good idea to bridge the gap and establish that there is a sort of relationship between these two women.”
Sonnet hopes to explore more feminist themes in literature at university through studying a double degree in literature and law.
She thanked her parents for their support, as well as MFG assistant principal and Extended Investigation teacher Damien Toussaint.
[SIDEBAR]
Local Premier’s Award winners:
Alexander Aidt (Geelong High School), Theatre Studies
Agnes Ambrose (The Geelong College), Top All-Round VCE High Achiever, Legal Studies
Henry Crutchfield (Geelong Grammar School), French
Olivia Hill (Christian College Geelong), Art Making and Exhibiting
Haruki Kitai-Gooi (Kardinia International College), Japanese Second Language
Radhika (Sonnet) Pandit (Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College), Exended Investigation
Merric Platt (Kardinia International College), Furnishing (VCE VET)
Marcus Rosman (Bellarine Secondary College), Music Performance (VCE VET)
Siddharth Shrivastava (Oberon High School), Top All-Round VCE High Achiever
