Darby Thompson, of Burraneer, hopes his near-perfect HSC result will allow him to realise his dream of becoming a doctor.
Darby, who received an ATAR of 99.6, was one of St George and Sutherland Shire's top HSC achievers in 2019.
The Caringbah High School Dux made the All-round Achievers, Top Achievers and Distinguished Achieivers merit lists.
All-round Achievers are students who achieved a result in the highest band possible (Band 6 or Band E4) in 10 or more units. Top Achievers are students who achieved one of the highest places in a HSC course and also achieved a result in the highest band possible (Band 6 or Band E4). Distinguished Achievers are students who achieved a result in the highest band (Band 6 or Band E4) for one or more subjects.
Darby studied English Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1, Mathematics Extension 2, Physics, Chemistry and Engineering Studies.
His mark of 97 in Engineering Studies saw him place seventh in the state but he said his favourite subject was maths, and he even continued to brush up after his HSC exam.
"My favourite subject this year was Mathematics Extension 2 as I was challenged by intricate problems involving complex numbers, conics and mechanics," he said.
"I vividly remember coming home after the HSC exam to solve some of the harder questions I couldn't complete during the test, as they were quite interesting."
Darby recently attended an interview as part of his application to study pre-graduate medicine at University of NSW and can't wait to find out this month if he was successful.
"I felt confident, drawing from some of my experiences as a surf lifesaver and student pilot to assist them in getting to know more about me," he said.
Surprisingly, Darby said his study regime was "less strict than those around me".
"I'm was not one to follow a set timetable with precise hourly deadlines for different tasks," he said.
"What worked best for me was setting goals for the amount of time I wanted to study every week."
Four schools in St George and Sutherland Shire made the top 50 schools in the state based on 2019 HSC results.
Caringbah Selective High School was the top performing school in Sutherland Shire, ranking 48th in the state, with 254 'high scores' and seven students making the All-round Achievers merit list.
St George Girls High School at Kogarah, a government selective high school, was the top performing school in St George and Sutherland Shire this year, with a ranking of 32.
It was followed closely by Anglican all-girls' school Danebank at Hurstville, which made the list of top 50 schools with a ranking of 34.
Sydney Technical High School at Bexley, another government selective high school, also made the top 50 schools in the state with a ranking of 40.
About 75,000 students across NSW received their HSC results on December 17, 2019.
2019 All-round Achievers merit list for
SUTHERLAND SHIRE
Abbey Baker, Shire Christian School
Penelope Beltran-Rehberg, Caringbah High School
Justin Botros, St Patrick's College, Sutherland
Jade Ellen Carroll, The Jannali High School
Sophie Crowe, St Patrick's College Sutherland
Gabrielle de Leeuw, Caringbah High School
Emma Gaston, Port Hacking High School
Anna Elisabeth Grace Hobson, Kirrawee High School
Georgia Holmes, Woolooware High School
Lily Rose Kitteringham, Caringbah High School
Irene Yun Liu, Caringbah High School
Grace Logue, St Patrick's College Sutherland
Tristan Bailey Maher, Caringbah High School
Hannah Kate Millar, Sylvania High School
Alexandra Millington, De La Salle Catholic College, Cronulla
Brodie Jane Momsen, Caringbah High School
Nicholas Pastore, Port Hacking High School
Jasmine Salvato, De La Salle Catholic College, Cronulla
Sarah Marie Shiels, Kirrawee High School
Darby John Thompson, Caringbah High School
Emma Warren, Shire Christian School
ST GEORGE
Edwerd Alukkal, Sydney Technical High School
Anthony Arsecularatne, Sydney Technical High School
Fatima Bazzi, Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus
Emma-Lucille Blayney, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Macey Bown, Sydney Technical High School
Nicola Alexandria Cafcaros, St George Girls High School
Cecilia Chuen Yu Chenh, St George Girls High School
Michelle Ding, Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus
Rachel Fitzpatrick, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Jayden Wing Kang Foon, Marist College Kogarah
Mohammed Huda, Sydney Technical High School
Minsu Jung, Sydney Technical High School
Jennifer Kaploun, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Anastasia Kormas, St George Christian School
Varisara Laosuksri, St George Girls High School
Hattie Haidi Liang, St George Girls High School
Ella-Rose Liasides, Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus
Bryan Liu, Sydney Technical High School
Mia Isabella Lo Russo, St George Girls High School
Luca Stefano Lopes, Marist College Kogarah
Hayley Lynch, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Aaron Ryan Mamo, Marist College Kogarah
Amir Nadeem, Sydney Technical High School
Terrance Nguyen, Sydney Technical High School
Alex Pellegriti, Marist Catholic College Penshurst
Mikayla Elise Huthnance Perry, St George Girls High School
Adam Robey, Sydney Technical High School
Rory Peter Russo, Marist College Kogarah
Bill Scott, St George Christian School
Emily Semsarian, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Shaily Shrestha, St George Girls High School
Aimee Soenarjo, St George Girls High School
Brooke Srour, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Nehel Binte Mehdi Syed, St George Girls High School
Timothy Tjugito, Sydney Technical High School
Maja Vasic, St George Girls High School
Liam Volcevski, Marist College Kogarah
Yujia Wang, St George Girls High School
Rachelle Jia Ling Wu, St George Girls High School
Claire Xue, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
Jihao Yu, Sydney Technical High School
Amelia Zeitoun, Danebank - An Anglican School For Girls
To view the full 2019 All-round Achievers merit list click here
To view the 2019 Top Achievers in Course click here
To view the 2019 Distinguished Achievers list click here
