Some of Canberra’s high achieving students in 2026, clockwise, Anastasia Perkovic, Ishita Gupta, Michael Thow and Alex Kwiatkowski. Pictures by Keegan Carroll and supplied
Students from across Canberra have received ATAR results on Tuesday, December 16.
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The Canberra Times spoke to some of the high achievers about their reflections for the year, their advice and hopes for the future.
Brindabella Christian College – Selwyn Giddy
Brindabella Christian College dux Selwyn Giddy. Picture supplied
Subjects: Specialist mathematics, specialist methods, literature, history, music and religion
Selwyn hopes to study arts and law in Sydney at Australian Catholic University.
Daramalan College – Lachlan Hynd
Daramalan College dux Lachlan Hynd. Picture supplied
Subjects: Literature, specialist mathematics, specialist methods mathematics, physics, continuing Japanese, religious studies and the ANU Japanese H course
Lachlan has been in the college band since year 7, was the bugler for the 2025 college Anzac Ceremony and was a house captain in years 11 and 12, which involved organising fundraising activities and awareness events.
Lachlan has received an early offer to study engineering at ANU and is exploring study options at UNSW Sydney.
Dickson College – Michael Thow
Dickson College dux Michael Thow. Picture supplied
Subjects: Specialists methods, mathematics, chemistry, biology, literature, music and ANU specialist math H course
Alongside his studies, Michael works at a pharmacy, does kung fu and volunteers at his church, working in the youth ministry and playing guitar on the worship team.
Michael was diagnosed with ADHD and autism. He said working with his ADHD rather than against it helped during year 12.
“If I’m going to study or work on assignments, setting myself specific time periods and goals, not necessarily saying I’m going to study for an hour,” he said.
“I need to give myself a bit more slack when I’m not able to fully concentrate on something and medicating has also been helpful.”
Michael intends to study medicine and has an early offer into study health science at ANU.
Lake Tuggeranong College – Anastasia Perkovic
Lake Tuggeranong College dux Anastasia Perkovic. Picture supplied
Subjects: Cyber security vocational studies, graphic design, business, English and IT apprenticeship
Anastasia said her IT apprenticeship was a highlight of the year and she enjoyed spending time with her friends in the last year of school.
The apprenticeship included soft skills like communication as well as completing a certificate two in applied digital technologies, she said.
While she initially thought medicine might be a career path she wanted to pursue, during year 10 work experience at a hospital made her think differently.
“I had also enrolled in a web development class and I was enjoying that quite a lot,” she said.
Anastasia has an offer for information technology at the University of Canberra and will look to apply for other universities once she has her ATAR.
Merici College – Ishita Gupta
Merici College dux Ishita Gupta. Picture by Keegan Carroll
Subjects: Specialist mathematics, specialist methods, chemistry, business, English, religious studies and an ANU global perspectives and commerce course
Ishita said she enjoyed the different style of learning the ANU course was able to offer.
“It was very discussions based with all the other students, it was broad and global, one of my assignments focused on Trump’s tariffs,” she said.
When it comes to advice to other students, she said it was important to not procrastinate.
“I used to at the start, working last minute and then hope for the best in the exam but then the stress of it was bad,” she said.
At school, Ishita competed in many national academic competitions and was the co-founder and editor of the school’s new student run magazine.
Ishita is interested in studying software engineering at university – she has an early offer at ANU and will be applying to Sydney universities.
Radford College – Brynten Au
Radford College dux Brynten Au. Picture supplied
Subjects: Chemistry, English, specialist mathematics, specialist methods and physics
“After Radford, I plan to pursue either medicine or engineering, with the aim of making a meaningful impact on the world,” Brynten said.
St Edmund’s College – Evan Richards
St Edmund’s College dux Evan Richards. Picture supplied
Subjects: Specialist mathematics, specialist methods, data science, networking, business, English
Evan said he had worked hard this year and was happy with his results.
He enjoyed all of his year 12 subjects and is interested in doing more study into quantum computing next year.
He said balance was important and he tried to split time between school academics, soccer and time with friends.
Next year, his family is moving to Western Australia and he will be applying for universities there.
St Mary MacKillop College – Alex Kwiatkowski
St Mary MacKillop College dux Alex Kwiatkowski. Picture by Keegan Carroll
Subjects: Specialist mathematics, specialist methods, physics, computer science, English and religion
Alex was the communications leader at the college, which he said involved making videos for school assemblies as well as volunteering for charity events.
His advice to next year’s year 12 cohort is to pick classes and subjects you enjoy.
Alex said he made an effort to get rid of distractions while studying, including putting his phone in a separate room.
UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra – Anton Steinhauser
UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra dux Anton Steinhauser
Subjects: Specialist mathematics, specialist methods, physics, chemistry, English, German
“I was expecting something reasonably high, but definitely not nine-five, that was great,” Anton said.
School camps and a ski trip were some of the highlights for Anton this year and said he enjoyed practical science classes.
Quantum physics is an area of interest which he was able to study as part of his physics classes.
Anton said he is interested because of the many unknowns in the field.
“Quantum physics is still a pretty new field, so there’s still a lot to learn, and there is a lot of very intricate, interesting stuff,” he said.
Next year, Anton has an early offer to study advanced science at ANU.
ACU Canberra campus dean Professor Darius von Guttner said there would be a lot of excitement and anxiety today as students receive their ATAR.
“Whatever the number is, the ATAR is only really important as a stepping stone to something next,” he said.
“It is an exciting and anxious time, but at the same time it is a window open onto the future.”
“They need to be ready to step forward and grab it.”
Professor von Guttner’s advice for the next few months was to enjoy the summer.
The next step on their education journey into tertiary education will require different skills, new study requirements and new levels of achievement.
“My heartfelt wish for them is to have a relaxing summer … enjoy, catch up with mates, refresh and keep the mind open.”
ACT Association of Independent Schools executive director Tracey Taylor said all-round student wellbeing had been important for schools in 2025.
“We know that wellbeing continues to be a big driver of whether a student is successful or not,” she said.
Ms Taylor said this was not one specific program or class but usually comes through in all aspects of a school culture.
Nieve is the Canberra Times’ education reporter, covering all levels from early education through to universities in the capital. Previously she was the political reporter at The Courier in Ballarat. Get in contact at [email protected]
Nieve is the Canberra Times’ education reporter, covering all levels from early education through to universities in the capital. Previously she was the political reporter at The Courier in Ballarat. Get in contact at [email protected]
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