Last year, the School celebrated its 50 year anniversary of co-educational schooling. Students in the graduating class of 2022 made a remarkable effort in their end of year exams, despite the effects of COVID on their final years of high school.
“When I received my ATAR, I was excited but definitely had an overwhelming sense of relief that it was finally over. In a COVID interrupted year, it was the dedication of teachers, such as Mr Cowan who came to school to teach us, even the time he had a punctured lung, that led to our year group’s success.” said Hannah.
Hannah Nichols was one of the cohort’s four Distinguished Scholars and was awarded the inaugural Cannon Copland prize at the end of year Presentation Evening. The Cannon Copland award is given to a student of outstanding academic achievement in at least two out of seven subject areas and is awarded to someone who intend to attend university.
“Next year, I will be studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at UWA with an assured pathway to medicine. To be completely honest, I was shocked that I got in, I never really believed I had a strong chance of getting an Assured Pathway at UWA. The guidance through the application process by people such as Mrs Chiera, and opportunities given to us to attend workshops, is what I believe, made all the difference. The Medical and Allied Health program at the school provided me with amazing hands-on experience that I needed, and invaluable advice from medical practitioners, that ultimately helped me make my final decision to pursue medicine,” said Hannah.
Final year of school can be as much an exciting, as an anxious time, and Hannah shares how she avoided burn-out during her final year. “My tip for this year’s Year 12 students would be to find a good study-life balance. I think if you go out too hard and eliminate time for yourself and the things you enjoy outside of school, you will end up burning yourself out. For me, playing tennis or going to the beach was what took my mind off school and the stress,”
“In the end, you must trust yourself and the work that you have put in because, realistically, I do not think anyone is going to remember the study they do right before the exam,” Hannah stated. “I would also say that there is no need to feel pressure to know what you want to do after school, I think that I changed my mind about ten times throughout Years 11 and 12 before I knew what I really wanted to do.”
Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School provide students with every opportunity to succeed, “If you work hard enough and make the most out of the support provided from the teachers, you will be presented with the opportunity to do just about anything when you finish,” concluded Hannah.
