Year 12 Results Release – What Next?

Receiving your year 12 results via text message will likely be one of the more stressful moments in your life. In the lead up it can be hard to know what to expect, and you might feel like there’s a lot of pressure placed on you.

Make sure you have someone on the day with whom you can discuss your results who isn’t also in year 12. It can sometimes be really hard to discuss your results with a friend when they have also just received theirs, and are trying to digest the information themselves. You’ll want someone who will share in your success or empathise if you don’t do as well as you thought. Your parents could be good people to have this chat with, although if they’re putting a lot of pressure on, you might want to find another close adult like a family friend or aunt or uncle you could talk to. Often schools will have careers counsellors working on the day you receive your results, so be sure to ask them anything you need to help you understand the implications of the score you have just received.

If you do as well as you wanted or better than expected

Congratulations! Enjoy the moment and have a quiet celebration with your family. If you’re planning to go to university, consider whether you want to change your preferences at this stage. You might have changed your mind in the last couple of weeks, or you might have done better than expected, and you can add a different course to the top of your list.

Please be sure not to change your preferences just for the sake of ‘changing’. Often doing a course simply because you achieve a certain ATAR may, in fact, lead to disappointment.

If you don’t do as well as you thought

Firstly, ‘Well done’ on all your hard work and on finishing year 12! It’s still a great achievement. If you would like to change your university preferences, you’ll have a chance to do so now. Almost all universities have information sessions or the chance to drop in and speak to an advisor during the change of preference period. Go and talk to someone about your options.

And remember, you DO have options. For example, there are often multiple pathways to help you get to your ideal course. Speaking to staff at a university can help you plan an alternative pathway and allow you to make the right decisions. Or you can take the opportunity to actually do something completely different than what you expected and embrace this as the opportunity to embark on a new phase of your life.

However, at the end of the day we are all individuals. Other people might not be having the same reaction that you are, so while you can certainly ask other people about their results, make sure the conversation moves on, as it can be a hard time for people who didn’t do as well as they expected. Rest assured, though, your life will not be determined by your ATAR. In fact, your results won’t matter in a few months time, so take a breath, play with the cards you've been dealt and start planning the next exciting phase of your life!

Managing a difficult relationship with a teacher

It’s approaching that time of year when you’ll be finding out which classes you’ll be doing next year. This is mostly cause for excitement – new topics, new classes, new friends to make, and new teachers to meet. However, what happens if you find out that you have a teacher you clash with or you don’t learn well from?

Your first reaction might be to switch to a different class. If there are multiple classes, this could be a good idea. However, if this will result in lots of changes to your timetable, this switch may not be worth it.

If there’s only one option for the class, I would not recommend switching subjects. It’s not worth dropping a subject because of the teacher. You don’t want to miss out on a possible career path when there are ways to deal with the situation.

If you’re in a classroom with a teacher you clash with, try not to react negatively to things they say. As much as students may protest, a classroom is not a democracy, and fighting with a teacher will most likely end badly for you. Learn to take a few deep breaths and keep your mouth shut if you’re feeling irritated.

Even if you don’t like the teacher, you can still focus on the schoolwork. Throw yourself into doing work in that class – you can be the silent person at the back of the class who surprises everyone with your great work!

If you feel like your teacher isn’t teaching the subject very well, it could be a good idea to find a tutor. Tutors will explain things in different ways, and you’ll receive one-on-one attention in the areas in which you need targeted help.

You can also create a study group with your friends in a free period or after school to go over what you are learning (or think you should be learning) in class. This way everyone can contribute their own understanding of the topic, and you can collaboratively revise.

Even if you feel like your teacher isn’t teaching in a way you’d like, they have access to a lot of great resources. Ask them for different practice exams and revision questions so that you can see a variety of questions and ways the topics may be presented to you. Also remember that the VCAA website has a lot of great resources for you.