Lurnea High School is celebrating one of its best HSC results with continued improvement in lifting students into the top three bands of achievement.

Among its top achievers was school captain and dux Tia Judd who will study a double degree of law and criminology at the University of Wollongong after receiving a $120,000 vice-chancellor’s scholarship.

Fellow student Sahar Al Khamees also excelled in achieving the top band 6 for Arabic Continuers and top band E4 for Arabic Extension.

Principal Kylie Landrigan congratulated the class of 2024 and their teachers saying the dedication to their work had paid off with 35 per cent of students’ marks in the top three bands results.

Ms Landrigan said this was an increase of 10 per cent since 2020, reflecting the school’s focus on explicit teaching and lifting student achievement.

Highlighting the school’s academic growth, the school recorded the lowest number of bottom band results with just 7.7 per cent of total subjects sat receiving a band one result. This is a dramatic drop from almost 20 per cent in 2020.

Ms Landrigan said while it was important to mark the outstanding achievers, she also paid tribute to the staff who had worked with students consistently to help them reach their potential.

“Having a third of our results in the top three bands is an extraordinary achievement that reflects the dedication of teaching staff to give our students the best possible platform for their post-school lives,” she said.

“As a school leader it is also rewarding to see that constant improvement year on year as we lift our students up through the HSC bands.

“We will not be resting on our laurels and are determined to keep this upward trajectory in 2025.”