Three students at Haileybury College’s Keysborough campus overcame Covid disruptions to celebrate prizes in the 2021 Premier’s VCE Awards.
Davin Nambuswasam, Geethan Pfeiffer and Molly Vulcan were among the state’s top performers in VCE during the pandemic-struck 2020.
Davin took out two awards in Latin and psychology, as did Geethan for mathematical methods and for algorithmics.
Molly, who excelled in psychology, said she “cut myself some slack” to help avoid burnout during the stressful lockdowns.
“Discipline was important to maintain regular study in preparation for the VCE exams and SACs but I didn’t sacrifice relaxation time for excessive study during the year.”
She plans to enrol in commerce at Melbourne University, with a view to a law degree or entrepreneurship and some travel in between.
Mathematics ace Geethan said he missed the direct communication with teachers and peers.
“I coped during remote learning by taking frequent breaks from my studies, using such time to play online chess or play the piano, activities that helped refresh my mind.”
He hopes to pursue further maths studies followed by an academic career.
Duvin said he wavered between days of enjoying the “quietness, solitude and autonomy” of online learning and the “not so great days”.
“By understanding that these were all just normal things to feel was what really allowed me to stay sane throughout the year.
“I forced myself to be conscious of how lucky I was to even have the ability to be in a virtual class everyday and an extensive school support system.”
He’s not certain what career path he’ll take but has interest in health sciences.
Haileybury CEO and principal Derek Scott said it was particularly rewarding for the students after enduring the unexpected shift to remote learning.
“I think the standards that have been set by these students also speak volumes of the calibre of Haileybury students and staff.
“In the face of the challenges presented by Covid, it was ‘business as usual’ for our students, teachers and the support staff that helped to keep everything running smoothly.”
Across its campuses, 13 Haileybury students received 16 Premier’s VCE awards.
