202 HSC results: Camden Haven high-achiever Maddison Symons will pursue further study in medicine

The 2020 Higher School Certificate results were released today (December 18).

The Camden Haven High School vice-captain is one of more than 76,000 year 12 students in NSW to receive their HSC results, after completing her final exams and last year of school.

The 18-year-old balanced her academic attention across chemistry, advanced mathematics, extension one mathematics, advanced English, visual arts and geography via distance education.

"I have an idea about what I might like to do after school, but I'm also the first child from my family through HSC so I also don't really know what to expect," she said.

"I also have early entry into University of Newcastle for radiography and nuclear medicine, so I'm chilled about it but also nervous for the hard work to pull off.

"I'd like to see where I can go in radiography or as a doctor because I love helping people and I've always wanted to be working in a team environment involving chemistry or physics. At the start of this year I was actually sick with appendicitis and I was in hospital for a month, so my interest in medicine stems from there."

Australian students suffered a major roadblock this year when study was moved to online learning due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Students worked from home during term one and continued through to term two in March.

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"We had about two months in March of studying at home. The transition to online learning this year wasn't too bad because our school was already set up to go online as a distanced education school," Maddison said.

"It was more of a mental switch to get used to not going into school and having the same routine. It was definitely something to adjust to and not having those physical interactions like moving to classes made a big difference.

"You have to switch mindsets between subjects and just the environment of school makes it more enjoyable than sitting at home.

"Some people loved learning at home and had more time, but the other half were ready to come back to school. It was actually an important wake up call to remind us how important going to school is.

"I think the cohort of 2020 was very resilient in pushing through this year and striving for the best. We were much more fortunate than the poor Melbourne students who were in lock down for months."

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