December 19, 2013
Saturday was a big day for all this year’s Year 12 students aiming to get an OP … but for Kingaroy State High School’s senior school dux Thomas Stevens, it was an awesome day.
He was one of just over 700 students across Queensland to receive a coveted OP1, which means he can choose to do just about anything he’d like to do at uni.
Tom has elected to study electrical engineering at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra so he’ll be paid while he earns his qualifications.
The course he’ll be doing is offered by the University of NSW through a campus in the ACT.
At the end of four years’ study, Thomas will not only graduate as an electrical engineer but he’ll also have the rank of Pilot Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.
Tom couldn’t wait until the Monday mail-out to find out how he went; he went online just after midnight on Saturday morning to learn the good news.
And he won’t have be having too much time off from study; he’ll be leaving Kingaroy on January 24 to start his new life in the military.
Four Kingaroy State High School students earned OP2s: Lauren Cross, Holly Ferling, Jess Elford and Karl Humphreys.
Lauren plans to study Business Management at the University of Queensland, majoring in advertising.
She became interested in advertising after doing work experience at an agency in Adelaide but she believes the degree will also give her flexibility in her future career choice. She hopes to one day start her own business.
Australian cricketer Holly Ferling’s OP2 was a “huge effort” as Kingaroy State High School principal David Ballin acknowledged.
‘She’s been a wonderful achiever. The way she has balanced her sport and her study … to do six subjects and get an OP2 after spending a month in England with the Australian women’s cricket team playing for the Ashes has been an incredible performance,” Mr Ballin said.
All up, 66 students at Kingaroy State High School were awarded OPs out of the 155 students who finished Year 12, a similar percentage to previous years.
Not all students seek OPs, of course, with many electing to enrol for TAFE courses or other tertiary studies.
Across Queensland, about 25,880 students earned OPs: 731 earned OP1s and 885 earned OP2s.
Mr Ballin said the State average for schools to receive between OP1 and OP13 was 67.6 per cent; Kingaroy State High School achieved 73 per cent which he believed was a positive result.
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St Mary’s Catholic College in Kingaroy was also happy with the results its students earned.
Of OP eligible students: 25 per cent received between OP 1-5; 68.75 per cent between OP 1-10; and 93.5 per cent between OP 1-15.
One student earned an OP2.
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Students often wonder if a number of OPs are “allocated” to various schools but the Queensland Studies Association says this not the case.
A QSA spokesman said students, not schools, receive an Overall Position (OP) which ranks them against other students from across the State.
“The QSA does not set quotas of particular OPs for any school. The number of OP1s achieved by students at a particular school varies from year to year depending on the level of students’ achievements each year,” the spokesman said.
“If there is a large number of OP1s, it’s because a large number of high-achieving students attended the school.”
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Queensland Class of 2013 – Fast Facts:
- 48,873 students will receive a Senior Education Profile — 667 more than last year
- 42,646 students will receive a Queensland Certificate of Education — 1870 more than last year
- 657 students will receive a Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement — 58 more than last year
- 26,608 students will receive a Tertiary Entrance Statement — 415 fewer than last year
- 21,074 students will receive Overall Positions (OPs) of between one and 15 — 250 fewer than last year
- 731 students will receive an OP1 — seven more than last year
- 31,813 students have obtained a VET Certificate I, II, III or IV qualification — 1156 more than last year
- 1357 students studied a university subject while still at school — 60 more than last year
