Joeys students Benjamin Sestanovic and Leo Jin both participated in accelerated programs and achieved impressive HSC results, reflecting well on the College’s capacity to encourage and promote high-level learners.
The pursuit of excellence is a cornerstone College value. Joeys prides itself on being a school where gifted students can excel and reach their potential as learners.
The Accelerated programs for boys who are ready to move ahead of their year group to the next stage of learning enable students to fast-track their development.
For example, in Mathematics, the Years 9 and 10 curriculum can be compressed into Year 9 and students start their Preliminary HSC content in Year 10, culminating in the HSC in Year 11.
Indeed, Joeys Accelerated programs have been particularly successful for our HSC students.
In 2021, for the first time, accelerated students completed their HSC in Studies of Religion and a remarkable 10 boys achieved Band 6 (above 90) results. In 2022, accelerated Business Studies students will sit for the HSC.
Across the cohort of accelerated students, two boys’ performances were particularly outstanding. From Year 10, Benjamin Sestanovic received an extraordinary HSC mark of 98 in French Continuers, while Year 11 student Leo Jin, earnt marks of 95 in Extension 2 Mathematics and 97 in Extension 1.
Benjamin, a day boy from Putney, says being able to speak another language is like having a “super power” because it opens up a foreign culture and enables him to communicate with a whole range of people he would never have been able to connect with.
A passionate Francophile, he was offered the opportunity to join the acceleration program at the end of Year 9 by his language teacher Ms Berriman. He completed the Year 11 exam and received a mark of 90, which was enough to convince him to do HSC Year 12 French in Year 10. That summer he worked hard to fill any gaps in his knowledge.
“Over the 2020 holidays I did a lot of revision and catching up on what I would have missed in Year 11, because in effect, I’d actually skipped a year,” he says.
His mark was just one shy of the state’s top in French, and it has given him added confidence as he enters his senior years of study. Benjamin also feels better equipped to tackle the rest of his HSC because he has more time to concentrate on his remaining subjects.
“Going into Years 11 and 12 it is reassuring that I know how it’s going to unfold. And I can now focus on my other subjects in study.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Leo. He started at Joeys in Year 10 and began the Mathematics accelerated course in 2020. Like Benjamin, he has welcomed the latitude it has given him to concentrate on the rest of his HSC studies.
“It’s beneficial because you can manage your time better,” the Killara day boy says. “You can finish three or four units in Year 11 and you only have six or seven units to focus on in Year 12.”
“The accelerated program means you can manage your time better because you’re able to finish four units in Year 11 and only have seven to focus on in Year 12.”
Leo JIN YEAr 12
He was thrilled to receive such stand-out HSC marks but is quick to credit Joeys’ teachers with his success.
“I came from another school and academically, the teachers and resources here are so much better,” he says.
He also praised the great sense of community and camaraderie that exists within the College: “It’s unique. It really is very special.”
Both Benjamin and Leo are testament to the emphasis Joeys places on tailoring education to fit the individual. Their academic talents have been able to flourish unhindered at the College. They are the embodiment of the school motto: “Strive for better things.”
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