Student Success Stories
Message From The Principal
TIGS students are diverse and have once again achieved outstanding results across many subjects. The Class of 2020 have exemplified persistence in the most challenging of years and with a top ATAR mark of 97.45 and 98.4% Early Entry into university for eligible students, the future is looking bright indeed for our graduating cohort.
TIGS distinguishes itself in the region by providing broad opportunities and whole-person care whilst still ensuring the pursuit of academic rigour and individual excellence. Our core values of Academic, Christian and Caring are lived out every day in our School, because just academic is simply not enough for a flourishing life in a complex and demanding world.
TIGS students are sought after by Tertiary institutions and employers as intelligent, conscientious young adults who can adapt to changing circumstances, bridge cultures and empower others around them. They leave us, confident, well rounded, successful and prepared to make a difference in the world.
Congratulations to the Class of 2020.
Mrs Judi Nealy
2020 HSC Outstanding Achievements
97.45 Top HSC ATAR for the Year 12 Class of 2020.
98.44% of applicants gained entry to University
77% of students achieved a Band 5 or Band 6
1 x student selected for Art Express 2021 Showcase.
3 x Students were accelerated to sit HSC Exams beyond their year group
16 Distinguished Achievers – For achieving the highest band in a course.
Overall Top ATAR 99.2
Tamika Mansell
Congratulations to our International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme student, Tamika Mansell for achieving the highest ATAR result at TIGS of 99.2 for the Class of 2020. Tamika joined TIGS in Year 11 and has certainly taken every opportunity available to her to be an influential and positive contributor to our School including being appointed to School Captain.
“Getting over 99 is a real dream come true and I honestly couldn’t have done it without everyone at TIGS! Thank you so much for the opportunity to come to this school. It has been the best two years of my school life.” – Tamika Mansell
Top HSC ATAR 97.45
Kaichuan Yu
Kaichuan Yu attended The Illawarra Grammar School as part of our International Student Programme.
In recognition of his academic character, Kaichuan was awarded the prestigious Barbara Broadley Mathematics Extension 2 Prize in Year 12. After spending his 2019 Christmas holidays in China with family, Kaichuan was unable to return to Australia due to the border closure during COVID-19. As a result, Kaichuan was required to complete the remainder of his HSC studies via the School’s remote and online learning platform. Kaichuan sat his HSC exams in Beijing with fellow international students and has received the exceptional ATAR of 97.45! This result is a testament to his dedication to learning and academic prowess
HSC Distinguished Achievers
Samuel Aubin
William Carroll
Sebastiano Di Noro
Egor Dolgopolov
Zoe Dribbus
Zara Eggers
Luca Gibbs
Lachlan Mills
Alexandra Nicholl
Aakriti Saroha
Cartia Taranto
Sarah Tubman
Luke Wilson
Kaichuan Yu
Mackinly Zecevic
Ruohan Zhao
Selected for ARTEXPRESS 2021
Ella de Graaf-Clark
Congratulations to Ella de Graaf-Clark for making the final selection for ARTEXPRESS 2021. The exhibition is an annual exhibition of exemplary artworks created by NSW Visual Arts students for their HSC Exams. Ella’s artwork titled ‘Year Million’ demonstrates the possibilities of humanity fuelled by science and technology. The themes of CRISPR, Gene Editing, the Hive Mind and Metaverse 0.1 are explored in an attempt to enlighten what it means to be human, both ethically and biologically at the turn of the new age.
Year 10 | 2 Unit Construction | Band 6
William Carroll
Year 11 | 2 Unit Mathematics Extension 1 | Band 6
Mackinly Zecevic
Year 11 | 2 Unit Construction | Band 5
Harrison Webb
Student Stories
Samuel Aubin | Dux Class of 2020
Samuel Aubin was School Captain and HSC Dux of Year 11 and Year 12. In recognition of his academic and leadership qualities, he was a double recipient of the Caltex Best All Rounder Award. A talented sportsman he represented the School at NASSA Athletics, won repeated HICES Best Debater Awards and was an outstanding Grand Champion in International Community Problem Solving for his project Shark-Mate. His continued work on this project with UOW led to his recent application for a $10,000,000 grant to pursue his research. Furthermore, his instigation of the Homeless Hub as 2020’s School Charity has been enhanced with his working to prototype a vending machine for essential goods. Samuel is the epitome of Renaissance man and was awarded a half-scholarship to Bond University, a UOW Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship as well as the UOW Illawarra Principal’s Recommendation Scholarship.
Thomas Main | Football & Sporting Prowess
Thomas Main is an extremely talented athlete and has achieved at an elite level in soccer whilst balancing his HSC study. His football skills have been honed with four day a week training which saw him travel to Sydney and then return to TIGS for his lessons. Thomas represented the School at NASSA Football as a stepping stone to being part of the Australian Joeys team competing in the U15 Asian Football Federation Championships. In 2020, he was named as part of the squad to play for Sydney FC in the Asian Champions League. In all these endeavours, Thomas has been an outstanding sportsman and has also remained modest and unassuming.
Xia Lian Wilson | The Prestigious Bell Shakespeare Scholarship
Congratulations to Xia Lian Wilson (Year 11 2020) who has been chosen for the highly coveted John Bell Scholarship! Xia Lian is one of our 2020-2021 School Vice-Captains and she will join Bell Shakespeare at their HQ in Sydney in July 2021 for a week of training and mentorship with this extraordinary team of celebrated thespians and directors.